THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 4, 1996 TAG: 9602040096
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
At times, it was something like a revival - the way the large crowd, mostly black women, hooted and nodded at the words of Terry McMillan.
McMillan, who spoke Saturday night at Hampton University's Ogden Hall, is no stranger to this phenomenon.
As the author of ``Waiting to Exhale,'' a novel that was made into a hit movie, she has connected with women of all ages and colors. They have one thing in common: Just like the characters in her book, they can't find Mr. Right.
They're looking for knights in shining armor but sometimes end up with fools.
``OK, who's got the male-bashing question?'' McMillan, wearing a gray blazer, blue jeans and a gray beret, asked the crowd in her deep, stern voice. ``Can we just get this over with?''
Sure enough, the question came . . . from a man.
Her response was that ``Waiting to Exhale'' is about ``a woman's sense of self-worth,'' while the flawed men in her novel help show the bad decisions that women make.
But McMillan's audience of about 1,100 still consisted predominantly of young, black women, who tromped through the snow in bone-chilling cold to hear her speak.
McMillan's books are earthy, the language sometimes downright dirty. But that helps create a stark portrayal of friendship, love and life.
The author, a fortyish woman who lives in the San Francisco suburbs, spent much of her time on stage reading from her new book, ``How Stella Got Her Groove Back.''
Stella, a 42-year-old securities analyst, is vacationing in Jamaica when she finds she just can't say no to a 20-year-old man who asks her to dance.
``Stop it,'' she tells herself, ``he is a child.''
``Waiting to Exhale,'' McMillan's third novel, opens with 36-year-old Savannah, who works in public relations, making plans to leave Denver for Phoenix.
She is tired of the glass ceiling at work and even more weary of the dead-end relationships she has endured in Denver. She wants to start anew in Phoenix.
Bernadine's husband, meantime, leaves her for a 24-year-old white woman and then stashes all of their money away during divorce proceedings.
Her reaction? She stuffs his BMW with his designer suits and sets it on fire. Gathering his golf clubs, restored Mustang and other goodies, she holds a garage sale, selling each item for a buck.
Gloria, a beauty salon owner and single mother, laments that she hasn't had sex since the Dark Ages. But her friend, Robin, is more fortunate - or is she?
Promiscuous Robin, in just 400 pages, gets busy with a drug addict, a cheating man and a businessman who treats her right but can't do it right.
McMillan knew there was an audience for her story - whether on screen or in a book. She was right. ``Waiting to Exhale'' wound up on The New York Times best-seller list.
Women - black, white, Asian and others - made the film, starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett, a hit when it opened over the winter holidays.
``It is an opportunity for young women, middle-aged women and old women to get together and bond,'' said Yvette Strickland, a residential director at Hampton University.
``It was like the Million Man March, but it brought African-American women together.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
GARY C. KNAPP
At Hampton University's Ogden Hall, Terry McMillan addressed ``the
male-bashing question'' before an audience of about 1,100 young
women, and she read from her newest book, ``How Stella Got Her
Groove Back.''
by CNB