I just finished an excellent book by an excellent writer. I’d like to say this happens more than twice a year but I’m very picky about my writers and more picky about how they can turn a phrase. The book I read was “Devil Sent The Rain” by Tom Piazza, a frequent contributor to the cherished Oxford American magazine. The title is based on the poorly recorded, almost unintelligible, song performed by Charley Patton. The book is a collection of essays, liner notes, and articles that Piazza has assembled to tell stories of American culture that are both personal and powerful. He takes us from Hurricane Katrina to Jimmy Martin, then from Charley Patton to Charlie Chan, then into the worlds of Norman Mailer and Bob Dylan; and oh yes, a little bit of further reflection on the writings of Gustav Flaubert. His excerpt from “True Adventures With the King of Bluegrass” is poignant and worth the price of the book.

One short passage intrigued me because it is extremely relatable in terms of what my own show, Deeper Roots, is all about. Tom Piazza grew up on the East Coast and, for lack of a better term, was an aficionado (if not a connoisseur) of jazz music. His sun rose and set on the be-bop and modern jazz music he was exposed to in the clubs of New York City. While eventually settling in New Orleans (experiencing Hurricane Katrina firsthand), his first real escape into middle America was to settle for a time in Iowa, attending and graduating from the famed Iowa Writer’s Workshop.

Before he left, a friend (and clearly a friend to be remembered) put together a collection of vintage recordings on cassette that Tom would listen to on his drive west. The recordings were of Jimmie Rodgers, Charley Patton, Blind Boy Fuller, Clarence Ashley, and countless others, a collection of some of the most important influences and reflections of the many different cultures that are like so many microclimates spread across the American landscape.

It evidently changed his view of culture and music. While attending the Workshop he would go onto describe this music’s importance to him. “I listened to those tapes the whole three years I was in Iowa. It was like having a giant ham in the refrigerator. You’d just go in and cut yourself another slice”. Could not have said it any better.