Tom Piazza
Tom Piazza
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Tom Piazza is an American author, journalist, and musician.
Birth and Death Dates
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Born on November 18, 1954, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Nationality and Profession(s)
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American, Author, Journalist, Musician.
Early Life and Background
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Piazza was born into a musical family in New Orleans. His father was an engineer and his mother a musician. Growing up in the vibrant city of jazz and blues, Piazza's early life was filled with music. He began playing piano at age five and went on to study music theory at Tulane University.
Major Accomplishments
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Piazza has had a diverse and accomplished career. As an author, he is best known for his novel _City of Refuge_, which won the 2005 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. He has also written several non-fiction books on music, including _Why New Orleans Matters_.
Notable Works or Actions
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Some of Piazza's notable works include:
_City of Refuge_: a novel that explores the lives of three musicians in post-Katrina New Orleans.
_Why New Orleans Matters_: a non-fiction book about the city's rich musical heritage and its significance in American culture.
* Piazza has also written articles and reviews for various publications, including The New Yorker and The Oxford American.
Impact and Legacy
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Piazza's work has had a significant impact on our understanding of New Orleans and its cultural importance. His writing often highlights the city's unique blend of music, history, and community. Through his books and articles, Piazza has introduced readers to the rich musical heritage of New Orleans and its enduring influence on American culture.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Piazza is widely quoted or remembered for his insightful commentary on New Orleans and its cultural significance. His writing often offers a unique perspective on the city's history, music, and people. As a journalist and author, Piazza has helped to preserve the stories of New Orleans' musicians and artists, ensuring their legacy continues to inspire future generations.
In summary, Tom Piazza is an accomplished author, journalist, and musician who has made significant contributions to our understanding of New Orleans and its cultural importance. Through his writing, he has introduced readers to the city's rich musical heritage and its enduring influence on American culture.
Quotes by Tom Piazza
And so they couldn’t have known exactly how despicable a lie it was when the president told the news media later that week that nobody could have predicted the levee breaks.
Today I travel a lot, and when I tell people that I live in New Orleans their expression changes slightly; something in their facial muscles relaxes, something brightens in their eyes, and they smile.
New Orleanians knew how to turn deprivation into an asset; they had the best gallows humor going, they danced at funerals, they insisted on prevailing.
New Orleans music lovers, black, white, young and old, are much more likely to be found in places where they can dance to the music they love, holler encouragement, sing along and, if at all possible, eat and drink at the same time.
At one point, early on, some public figures even asked whether it ‘made sense’ to rebuild New Orleans. Would you let your own mother die because it didn’t make financial sense to spend the money to treat her, or because you were too busy to spend the time to heal her sick spirit?
There was a gulf between those who had had their community smashed and their future thrown completely into question, and those for whom life still moved in an intelligible stream. It was not unlike the line that separated those who had come back from the war and those whose lives had been going on continuously while they had been away.
The question is not racial solidarity or class solidarity but a distinction between people who have a soul left and people who have mortgaged their souls for a short-sighted self-gratification – whether.
I didn’t know it consciously at that point, but I had stepped into one of the most important lessons that New Orleans offers: Go with what is. Use what happens.
Functioning in the face of any injustice disfigures you. If it kills you or drives you crazy, you are disfigured, and if you can contain it and channel it and work around it, you are still disfigured.