by Farai Chideya

Today News & Notes had its launch of a new NPR-wide series called "In Character."

Author and Spelman professor William Jelani Cobb took a look at Mudbone, conjured by Richard Pryor.

The whole point of this series is to look at fictional characters that epitomize elements of American life.

I'm getting ready to do Jim from Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.

Then I'm going to have a LOT of fun doing Storm from the X Men.

If I could talk to any fictional character, though, it would be Anyanwu, the wise, tough, and empathetic shape-shifter from Octavia Butler's Wild Seed. To me, she embodies the strengths and weaknesses of womanhood, refracted through the masterful speculative fiction of one of my favorite authors.

Meanwhile, check out this essay inspired by Toni Morrison's Pecola Breedlove and the ongoing conversation about the series over at the 'In Character' blog. And like Evy in Minnetonka, you can tell us about the characters who've moved you. We may even put your suggestion on the radio.

If you could have a conversation with any fictional character in the world, who would it be?