Still waiting to exhale?

Terry McMillan discusses life, love and the African American Community In her characteristic bold style, novelist Terry McMillan strode to center stage last night amidst thunderous applause. Sporting a striking magenta beret, McMillan, author of Waiting to Exhale, dazzled more than 500 admiring fans with her wit and down-to-earth charm. Her presentation in the University Museum's Harrison Auditorium was part of the Afro-American Studies Program's Mosaic of Black Writing series. McMillan began with an anecdote about her personal life, but quickly moved on to discuss her new novel, entitled How Stella Got Her Groove Back, which is slated to be published in May. McMillan explained that she was going to read from the novel but would start the reading from the middle of the text, rather than the beginning. Similar to her famed novel Waiting To Exhale, the plot of How Stella Got Her Groove Back revolves largely around a middle-aged African American woman and her experiences as she escapes to Jamaica to rediscover herself. McMillan's voice seemed to captivate the audience, which showed a continual interest in participation, shouting out responses to various excerpts from the reading. The audience eagerly asked McMillan questions in a period following the reading. One African American male wanted to know McMillan's opinion on last October's Million Man March. "I have brother-in-laws who don't pay child support but forked up enough money for a plane trip to D.C.," responded McMillan. "I'm not saying I don't believe that brothers shouldn't bond, just that something productive should come out of it." And when asked about her rising popularity to star status, she explained that she is simply a regular person. "I wash my dishes," she said. "I drive a carpool. I'm just like the next guy." To the many Waiting To Exhale fans who vocalized their praise for the movie, McMillan simply responded that she expects "a whole lot more movies in the years to come to depict African Americans in other places besides the hood." The evening drew to a close on a somewhat chaotic note, as McMillan's fans flocked to the stage where she sat for over an hour signing books. Although she may be currently enjoying the high life, McMillan has not always been such a privileged member of society, she explained. She grew up in Port Huron, Michigan, where the only book she was exposed to early on was the Bible. McMillan later worked in a library to help support her family, using the opportunity to read every piece of literature she could get her hands on. She later received a B.A. in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley and attended the Master of Fine Arts program at Columbia University.