Last night's reading at Eso Won went well. Really well as a matter of fact, the group in attendance proved the liveliest discussion since the 6th graders at the School for Global Studies. I think I'm slowly getting the grasp of this book reading thing.

What trips me out is that my friends in attendance always seem to be suppressing giggles as I read. Sometimes I think it's because I've been said to sound like Kermit the Frog, and other times, I have a sense it's because they recognize the story. Regardless of the reason, I see them giggling, and I want to giggle myself.

The folks at Eso Won reaffirmed an idea that my friend Besenia and I had concocted the night before. All that I say for now is stay tuned because there will be a major announcement here in a few months.

Last night I read from "Caribbean Queen," "Happy Birthday," and "Fingertips." It was my first time reading from "Fingertips" and "Caribbean Queen," but they both felt right. They go well together because my mom is a central character in both chapters. Of course, the question posed last night, "do you write about your father?" Great question because while I talk about him more often, he's surprisingly somewhat abssent from the final version of the book. It's one of those weird things that happens when one puts their life on the page.

Leslie's comrade Sean, posed another provocative question, "how much does geography matter to this book?" As I said last night, it matters a lot. I sought to relay my connections to so many places, from my family kitchen to the campus of University of Natal Durban. I have been blessed to see more of this world than anyone else in my family and I wanted to tell these stories for them and other folks who do not travel as much so that we can see how in so many different places our experiences with music are so similar.

'til next time,

Ferentz