Devil Sent the Rain: Music and Writing in Desperate America

Acclaimed author Tom Piazza follows hisprize-winning novel City of Refuge and the post-Katrinaclassic Why New Orleans Matters with a dynamic collection ofessays and journalism about American music and American character, in DevilSent the Rain.

“TomPiazza’s writing is filled with energy, and with tender, insightful words forthe brilliant and irascible, from Jimmy Martin to Norman Mailer. Time and timeagain, Piazza identifies the unlikely, precious connections between recentevents, art, letters, and music; through his words, these byways of popularculture provide an unexpected measure of the times.” —Elvis Costello

From the heart of the Mississippi Delta to a flooded New Orleans, Piazza confronts the American experience through:

• American Music Masters: From the trailblazing blues of Charley Patton and the yodels of Jimmie Rodgers to the holy ghost genius of Jimmy Martin and Bob Dylan.
• Hurricane Katrina: A clear-eyed, firsthand account of the disaster that exposed the nation’s fault lines and the fight to save a great American city.
• New Orleans Culture: An exploration of the city’s unique soul, its blend of the sacred and profane, and the animating spark that makes it a crucible of American possibility.
• Literary Titans: Candid encounters with the irascible Norman Mailer and an unflinching look at the writer’s life in the shadow of Flaubert.