University of Arkansas Press and The Oxford American Host Book Launch Party

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The Oxford American Book of Great Music Writing

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – On Nov. 1 the University of Arkansas Press and The Oxford American will host a book launch at the UARK Bowl in Fayetteville to celebrate the publication of The Oxford American Book of Great Music Writing (cloth, $34.95), edited by Marc Smirnoff, the magazine’s editor and founder. To celebrate 10 years of Southern music issues, most of which are sold-out or very hard to find, the 55 pieces collected by Smirnoff for this dynamic, wide-ranging and vast anthology will appeal to both music fans and fans of great writing.

Since its debut in 1996, The Oxford American’s more-or-less annual Southern Music Issue has become legendary for its passionate and wide-ranging approach to music and for working with some of America’s greatest writers. These writers — from Peter Guralnick, Nick Tosches and Tom Piazza to Susan Straight, William Gay and Steve Martin — probe the lives and legacies of Southern musicians who may or may not yet be familiar names, but whom readers will love being introduced, or reintroduced, to. In one creative, fresh way or another, these writers also uncover the essence of music and why music has such power over listeners.

Here, too, are Tom Piazza hanging out with the irrepressible musician Jimmy Smith in Nashville, R. Crumb hunting for old blues records, Rosanne Cash remembering a harrowing roadside experience, producer Jerry Wexler recalling Dusty Springfield’s Memphis session, Roy Blount Jr. on Ray Charles, and Ron Carlson trying to solve the mystery behind Bobby Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe.”

In his foreword to the book, music legend Van Dyke Parks writes that “Elvis made a blip on our national radar. Many of the artists featured here did not. To read on is to discover America.”

And another music legend, Dolly Parton, says, “God Bless America and God bless The Oxford American Book of Great Music Writing.”

This book represents a special relationship between “what may be the liveliest literary magazine in America” (The New York Times), based in Arkansas, and the state’s only university press. The book’s launch party will start at 8 p.m., after the University of Arkansas Homecoming football game. There will be music by Ocie Fisher & The Hipp Dogs. Copies of the book will be available. All proceeds benefit The Oxford American Literary Project. Tickets are $50 and are tax-deductible. They can be purchased at Sound Warehouse in Fayetteville, at www.oxfordamericanmag.com, by calling 501-450-5376, or at the door.