blogAmericans are smart
At least the ones who attend readings are, judging from the questions asked by the 350-odd people who’ve shown up for the five readings I’ve done so far. (Today’s snowstorm, alas, forced the cancellation of the one at Jabberwocky Bookshop in Newburyport, Massachusetts, alas — but we’re going to try to reschedule.) The curiosity and and intelligence have been staggering. Yes, one lady at the New York event was somewhat intensely interested in how many blacks and Jews lived in Manhattan in 1848, but even she seemed sincerely interested in the sound and shape and feel of America in Heyday‘s time.
Seven more to go in the next two weeks. It’s a mega-schlep, but I look forward to hearing America sing some more.