Tragic Magic

Meet Melvin Ellington, a.k.a. Mouth - a Black twenty-something, who has just been released from a five-year prison stretch having been a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War. Through a filmic series of flashbacks, we are exposed to his time in prison and his college days. Rhythm, blues and jazz is baked into each page, with the sounds of the city - barbershop talk, lively gossip, overheard conversations - imprinted in every word.