INSPIRATION AND ENDLESS DESPAIR.

IN OUR NEXT BOOK CLUB SELECTION, SHY BOY, NATIVE SON IN THE CHICAGO RECKONINGS, AUTHOR KEENAN NORIS MOVED BACK AND FORTH IN TIME DRAWING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE EXPERIENCES OF LITERARY GIANTS >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME, I AM DOING WELL.

>> LET'S GET RIGHT INTO IT.

OKAY, SO YOU QUOTE A LOT OF DIFFERENT AUTHORS IN YOUR BOOK THAT WE >> SO YOU REFER TO RICHARD WR AND IF SO, WHY NOT?

>> SO I HAVE DEFINITELY VISITED CHICAGO, HOWEVER, I HAVE NEVER MADE CHICAGO MY HOME.

MY FATHER WAS FROM CHICAGO AND GREW UP IN CHICAGO AND LEFT IN HIS LATE TEENS TO COME TO CALIFORNIA AND WENT TO COLLEGE HERE, BUT I THINK YOU MIGHT UNDERSTAND.

>> YEAH.

YEAH.

I MEAN I THINK THAT YOU KNOW, THAT I WANT TO RESPOND IN TWO WAYS TO YOUR QUESTION.

ONE, LET ME EXPLAIN WHY I WAS DRAWN TO WRITE ABOUT CHICAGO.

BECAUSE OF MY FATHER'S STORIES IN MY FATHER'S IMPACT ON ME AND THE STORIES MY FATHER TOLD ABOUT GROWING UP IN CHICAGO AND MY FASCINATION WITH THE GREAT MIGRATION .

I CAME TO SEE CHICAGO , I CAME TO UNDERSTAND CHICAGO AS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IN THE HISTORY OF BLACK AMERICA AND OUR LARGER AMERICAN NARRATIVE SO CHICAGO HAS ALWAYS HELD AN IMPORTANT PLACE FOR ME SORT OF ON THAT LEVEL.

>> HOW WOULD YOU SAY THAT, SORRY TO CUT YOU OFF.

>> WELL, YEAH.

I WOULD ALSO SAY YOU KNOW, THAT YOU KNOW, WRITERS OFTEN TIMES WRITE ABOUT PLACES THEY HAVE NOT LIVED.

I THINK THAT YOU SHOULD NOT WRITE ABOUT A PLACE YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN TO OR HAVE NO EXPERIENCE OF, BUT THOSE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.

>> SO YOU REFER TO RICHARD WRIGHT A LOT IN YOUR BOOK .

HOW DO YOU THINK THAT HE HELPED ILLUSTRATE YOUR FATHER'S EXPERIENCE GROWING UP HERE ?

>> YEAH, SO MY FATHER GAVE ME A NUMBER OF BOOKS TO .

WHEN I WAS 13 AND GAVE ME GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN AND SAID I WILL KNOW MORE ABOUT WHO I AM AND NATIVE SON WHEN I WAS 14 YEARS OLD AND SAID YOU WILL KNOW MORE ABOUT WHERE I AM FROM.

SO RICHARD WRIGHT'S NATIVE SON AND THEN BLACK BOY AND THE MEMOIR, THE FULL TITLE OF WHICH IS ACTUALLY AMERICAN HUNGER .

THOSE TWO BOOKS WHICH MY FATHER GAVE ME IN THIS PREPARATORY YOU KNOW, AT HOME AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE COURSE THAT I GREW UP WITH , IT BECAME DEFINITIONAL FOR ME, THOSE BOOKS DID AND THEY HELPED ILLUSTRATE FOR ME SOME TRUTH AND REALITIES ABOUT CHICAGO IN THE MID-20TH CENTURY AND SOME REALITIES OF THE GREAT MIGRATION WHICH MY FATHER'S FAMILY AND MY FATHER HIMSELF WAS A PART OF.

AND REALLY BECAME CENTRAL TO MY UNDERSTANDING ABOUT HOW WE BECAME A PRIMARILY URBAN PEOPLE BY THE WORK ON THE WEST COAST AND IN THE NORTH LIKE FOLKS IN CHICAGO AND NEW YORK AND DETROIT SO FORTH.

EVEN DOWN SOUTH.

>> SO WE HAVE ABOUT ONE MINUTE LEFT HERE.

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FINAL THOUGHTS AND WHAT YOU HOPE PEOPLE WILL GET OUT OF THIS BOOK AND IN UNDERSTANDING CHICAGO BETTER.

>> YEAH.

WELL, I HOPE THEY TAKE A NUMBER OF THINGS AWAY FROM THE BOOK.

ONE, I THINK THAT MY FAMILY STORY AND ALSO RICHARD WRIGHT'S STORY ILLUSTRATES SOME THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT WITH THE HISTORY OF EARLY TO MID 20th CENTURY CHICAGO BLACK HISTORY AND HOW IT WAS SHAPED BY THE GREAT MIGRATION.

I ALSO THINK THAT WHEN I REVISIT FRANK MARSHALL DAVIS IS STORY THAT SHEDS LIGHT ON A FIGURE WHO WAS MALIGNED UNFAIRLY POLITICALLY AND FINALLY WHAT I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE TERM IS IMPORTANT IN THE MEDIA PORTRAYALS ARE OFTEN INACCURATE AND UNFAIR OF