In this interview with NPR, Derek (DK) Nnuro talks about his debut novel, What Napoleon Could Not Do, a book that depicts how America is seen through the eyes of three characters with African ties.

Nnuro is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, teaches writing at Iowa, and is curator of special projects at the Stanley Museum of Art. He also loves Iowa City.

" You know, Iowa City has been so good to me. I don't think I would have been able to complete this novel anywhere else in the world. You know, it's the only place in the world where you walk down the street, you tell somebody you are a writer, and they just believe you. They don't ask you, what have you published? They don't interrogate you. They make you feel legitimate. I could step out of my house and encounter people who made me feel like a legitimate writer without having a single publication to my name - truly kept me going. And that is why Iowa City will always, and continues to, have a very special place in my - I mean, I'm still here. I'm still here. I'm still here. "