The Talking Drum

by Lisa Braxton

  “Maybe you’re right about the future of The Talking Drum,” she said and told him the news about being able to cover the bookstore’s bills for the month.

  “See Syd?” he kissed her on the temple. “Things are looking up. Give it time. Just give it some time.”

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Writing a novel had been my dream since I developed a love for reading in the first grade. As a six-year-old, I had no idea that becoming a novelist wouldn’t happen until many decades later, and that it would be one of the most challenging, yet rewarding experiences of my life. It is heartwarming that when I finally began this project, I wasn’t alone. I journeyed through the years with family, friends, and a community supporting me along the way.

  This book exists because of my parents. Julian and Elizabeth Braxton owned and operated a men’s clothing store in an urban community in Bridgeport, Connecticut, beginning in the late 1960s until well into the 2000s and saw their livelihood and community affected by urban redevelopment, much like my characters in The Talking Drum.

  I am grateful to my sister, Sylvia Braxton Lee, who reads the first draft of just about everything I write for publication and gives me encouragement and suggestions. She believed in The Talking Drum from the beginning, when all I had was a seven-page scene between a man and woman in a bookstore. Thank you to my niece and nephew, Raven Sofia Lee and Julian David Lee, who were playing with Fisher Price toys when I began the manuscript. They cheered me on, with, “You GO, Aunt Lisa!” throughout the years. Raven is now well into her high school years and Julian has his sights set on college. My brother-in-law, Aron “Teo” Lee, a fellow artist, urged me not to give up as I struggled in the later stages to find a publisher.

  Thank you to the pastor, ministerial leaders and congregation of Myrtle Baptist Church, West Newton, Massachusetts, for your spiritual and emotional support, as well as your enthusiasm in celebrating my publishing accomplishments. The ladies of the Myrtle Book Club gave me an invaluable critique and encouragement during the early stages of The Talking Drum and I will always be grateful to them: Jacquelyn Arrington, Melinda Brown, Monique Brown, Carolyn Davis, Barbara Fox, Roberta James, Mary Lightfoot, Maria Manning, Rosalyn Pierce, Susan Perry, Imelda Price, Claire Rosser, Maxine Thomas Smith, Denise Willis Turner, and Sandra Wright. Additionally, thank you to former English teacher, Reverend Inez Dover, for your critique of the manuscript.

  For technical advice I thank Alan Tauber, owner of DrumConnection, a Boston hand-drumming school, for the classes in which I learned both the complexity and simplicity of African drumming, Mamady Keita grandmaster of the djembe and one of the world’s best-known djembe players, Ernest Grant, PhD, burn nurse clinician, and Paul LeBlanc, formerly of the National Fire Protection Association Fire Analysis and Research Division.

  Marie Claude Mendy, formerly owner of Teranga Restaurant in Boston, not only introduced me to Senegalese cuisine, but arranged a gathering of her friends from the Boston Senegalese community to help me learn about Senegalese culture. Thank you for the generosity of your time.

  A special thanks to the Mountainview Low-Residency MFA faculty of Southern New Hampshire University who shepherded me along on my first draft of what was to become The Talking Drum: Robert Begiebing, Diane Les Becquets, Rick Carey, Katherine Towler, Gretchen Legler, and Merle Drown.

  Additionally, I would like to thank my writing community: Grub Street, one of the nation’s leading writing centers, Women’s National Book Association, National Writers Union-Boston, Boston Women Communicators, the South Shore Scribes, and the Kimbilio Fiction Writers Fellows.

  For making “the big dance” leading up to publication so much fun I thank my fellow Debs of The Debutante Ball blog: Amy Klein, Karen Osborne, Kathleen West, and Yodassa Williams.

  Thank you to my editor, Luciana Ricciutelli, of Inanna Publications, for her enthusiasm for this story and her commitment to bringing diverse perspectives to the reading audience.

  And to my husband, Alexander Reid, who spent many nights reading and re-reading the manuscript, helping me to sharpen my story line-by-line. When I was feeling discouraged you told me that you had no doubt that this work would be published. Alex, I couldn’t have done this without you.

  Photo: Adrienne Albrecht

  Lisa Braxton is an Emmy-nominated former television journalist, a former newspaper reporter, an essayist, short story writer, and novelist. She is a fellow of the Kimbilio Fiction Writers Program and was a finalist in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Southern New Hampshire University, her M.S. in journalism from Northwestern University, and her B.A. in mass media from Hampton University. Her short fiction has been published in anthologies and literary journals across North America. She lives in the Boston, Massachusetts area.