Words of Wisdom From Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison (1931-2019) was a novelist, book editor, and professor known for her fearless literary explorations of what it means to be a Black American woman. Her first book, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970 and was followed by the critically acclaimed (and widely popular) works Sula (1973), Song of Solomon (1977) and Tar Baby (1981). She published 11 novels in her lifetime and received several prestigious awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her 1987 novel Beloved. But what her millions of admirers remember most about her was her courageous heart.
Throughout her life, Toni Morrison was an outspoken supporter of civil rights, publishing essays on both racism and sexism, eschewing any attempt to pigeonhole her into a particular type of writing. When asked in a 1998 interview if her novel Paradise should be considered feminist, she replied: “Not at all. I would never write any ‘ist.’ I don’t write ‘ist’ novels.”
She strove, always, to be as free as possible with her writing, letting her imagination run onto the page without a thought as to how the finished work would be categorized. In that way, she embodied a beautiful ideal of artistic expression. When she passed away at the age of 88, she left a wealth of written words for the world to cherish. Here, we’ve collected 16 quotes from her novels, speeches, interviews, and other works of writing that inspire us with their passion and truth.
