The Talking Drum: A Novel
The Talking Drum: A Novel
By Lisa Braxton
Released May 1, 2020
It is 1971. The fictional city of Bellport, Massachusetts, is in decline with an urban redevelopment project on the horizon expected to transform this dying factory town into a thriving economic center. This planned transformation has a profound effect on the residents who live in Bellport as their own personal transformations take place. Sydney Stallworth steps away from her fellowship and law studies at an elite university to support husband Malachi's dream of opening a business in the heart of the black community of his hometown, Bellport. For Omar Bassari, an immigrant from Senegal, Bellport is where he will establish his drumming career and the launching pad from which he will spread African culture across the world, while trying to hold onto his marriage. Della Tolliver has built a fragile sanctuary in Bellport for herself, boyfriend Kwamé Rodriguez, and daughter Jasmine, a troubled child prone to nightmares and outbursts. Tensions rise as the demolition date moves closer, plans for gentrification are laid out, and the pace of suspicious fires picks up. The residents find themselves at odds with a political system manipulating their lives and question the future of their relationships. Examining the profound impact gentrification has on people in many neighborhoods, and the way in which being uprooted affects the fabric of their families, friendships, and emotional well-being, the novel not only focuses on the immigrant experience, but the way in which the immigrant/African American neighborhood interface leads to friction and tension.
Lisa Braxton is a former newspaper reporter and television reporter and anchor. She received an Emmy award nomination during her television career. 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. She is a former president of the Women’s National Book Association Boston chapter. Her stories and essays have been published in anthologies, magazines, and literary journals, including Vermont Literary Review, Clockhouse Review, Northwestern University Magazine, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and The Book of Hope. She received Honourable Mention in Writer’s Digest magazine’s 84th annual writing contest in the inspirational essay category, and was a Top 10 Finalist for the Still I Rise Grant for Black women writers. She lives in the Boston, Massachusetts area.
