Bill Moris spoke at Scuppernong Bookstore last night, delighting the crowd by reading experpts from his latest novel, "Motor City Burning." Bill's book, set in Detroit, is one that gets at the complexities of the city at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. The main character is an African American male who leaves the South for a "better life" in the north. Between reading passages, Morris treated the audience to music clips from the era. From the Temptations and that Motown sound to Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man," the music fit seamlessly with the book. Or, was it the other way around? The audience was delighted and bought up all 25 copies of the book before the end of the presentation.
While Bill grew up in Detroit, he has lived many places, including Greensboro where he wrote for the News & Record. Bill now lives in New York. We're not sure how long he's been away, but it is as if he never left. The names of locals, former colleagues, and townspeople about whom he likely wrote columns, flowed from his tongue as if he'd just seen them yesterday.
It might be fun to read Motor City Burning for the One City, One Book program.
Good portrait shot of Bill!
Posted by: William Kendall | Saturday, July 26, 2014 at 03:29 PM