TONI MORRISON DISCUSSES HER NEW BOOK: A MERCY

Last week at Head-Royce School in Oakland, California, Toni Morrison sat down for an interview with NPR. See part of the interview above.

After the interview and book signing, Morrison allowed a brief meet and greet with a group of African American young men and boys at the Vanguard Conference, the first of its kind in Independent Schools. I was one of the faculty mentors and session leaders for the day.

Since the meet and greet with Morrison was impromptu, meaning most of us didn't know that we we're going to meet the Nobel Laureate that day, we couldn't adequately prep for her visit. One of my colleagues from a San Francisco private high school gamely gave a bit about Morrison's history as we waited for the arrival. After a few halting minutes, I jumped up and attempted to fill in the blanks. I'm happy to say that I'm a Morrison fanatic with a good deal of arcane trivia at my fingertips.

It was surprising to me that less than 1/3 of the boys and young men had ever heard of Toni Morrison, only one of the sixty-five had ever read her work, and only 2/3 admitted to ever reading an African American author in their English classes at all.

Where to begin?

Most of the boys will probably remember their meeting long after the day. Memory is an amazing sleight of hand.

For me, meeting Morrison was like going to my first baseball game with my dad and brother, Michael--circa 1969. I'll never forget the harrowing train and bus rides to Wrigleyville, the long lines stretching blocks to get back on the El, the game in between (a blur), and how Ron Santo clicked his heels following the Cubs' victory over the hated Cardinals.

The boys and young men from grades five to eleven at the Vanguard Conference would remember what the day felt like later when they tell and re-tell their meeting with the Bard from Lorraine, Ohio; they'll remember what they said, what she said, and in an instant, how it was over too soon.