Factual Friday: Toni Morrison
The first time I encountered Toni Morrison was in my English class, senior year. I read her book, Beloved which tells the story of a woman who was formerly enslaved but at the time the book takes place, she is living in a post slavery America. I am particularly thankful I got to read this book in a classroom setting, as it is a difficult book to read. I say this because naturally a book discussing the realities of slavery is going to be graphic, but also because the story is not told chronologically. The lack of chronology in the book sounds counter intuitive, you’d think a book about a historical event would put those events in order. However, this is what makes this book so remarkable and memorable; as I was told in my English class, the lack of chronology symbolizes the broken narrative that accompanies our country’s history of slavery. In more simple, less book reporty, language: the story being out of order demonstrates how so many people who were enslaved had important stories that fell through the cracks of history. Anyways, I know you’re here to learn about Toni Morrison, not to listen to me reminisce about my high school English class. So here we go, Toni Morrison: one of the most renowned authors in American history.
Toni Morrison was born as Chloe Anthony Wofford in 1931, in Lorain, Ohio. Despite the fact that she grew up in a semi-integrated area, she still faced constant racial discrimination. Toni did not let that prevent her from becoming quite involved in her school, “She was able to use her intellect on the debate team, her school’s yearbook staff, and eventually as a secretary for the head librarian at the Lorain Public Library” (womenshistory.org). Toni went on to attend Howard University for her bachelor’s degree in English, then Cornell University for a master’s degree in English. She taught as a professor at Texas Southern University, as well as her alma mater, Howard. While teaching at Howard, Toni met her husband and had two children.
Toni got into the book industry by working for the publishing company, Random House, after teaching at Howard. Shortly after transfering to a different branch of Random House, Toni's first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published. According to biography.com, this book was deemed controversial but despite that, it was only the beginning of Toni’s career as an author. Her 2nd book, Sula, was very well received. Similarly to The Bluest Eye, it explored the African American experience, however, Sula, was nominated for the National Book Award. As stated by womenshistory.org, “By her third novel in 1977, Toni Morrison became a household name. Song of Solomon earned critical acclaim as well as the National Book Critics Circle Award. The success of her books encouraged Morrison to become a writer full time” (womenshistory.org). Because Toni was becoming such a widely acclaimed author, she was appointed to the National Council on the Arts in 1980. Biography.com states, “The following year, Tar Baby was published...Her next work, however, proved to be one of her greatest masterpieces(,) Beloved” (Biography.com). Because Beloved was such a masterpiece, it not only won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, it was adapted into a movie starring Oprah, Thandie Newton and Danny Glover.
Toni continued to accomplish numerous feats, including, but certainly not limited to, receiving, “the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature, making her the first African American woman to be selected for the award” (biography.com). She wrote children’s books, explored other genres and even wrote plays and songs. Toni was continuously creating up until she passed away due to complications with Pneumonia in 2019.
Toni Morrison was extraordinarily talented and her work is timeless. She is an inspiration to me, as an aspiring writer and I am willing to assume she inspires countless others. Next time you find yourself looking for a new book to read, I implore you to pick one of Toni’s. I can guarantee you will find it moving and educational.
And with that, I wish you a Factual Friday and a fun weekend!
Xoxo,
Zoe
Sources:
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/toni-morrison
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