Literary Giant: Toni Morrison
This week’s WCW honors our ‘Beloved’ literary giant: Toni Morrison!
Career Beginnings
Morrison was born on February 18th, 1931 in Lorain, Ohio. After graduating from Lorain High School, Morrision earned a post-secondary degrees from Howard University and Cornell University. Afterwards, she became the first black editor in fiction at Random House in New York City during the late 1960’s.
In addition to publishing, she began devoting more time to her own writing and published her first novel, The Bluest Eye, in 1970. Morrison wrote essays, published ten more novels, and co-wrote several children’s books over the span of forty years. Her most celebrated novel, Beloved (1987), was adapted into film and featured a prominent black cast that included Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, and Kimberly Elise.
Literary Legend
Morrsion was a recipient of many prestigious awards for her contributions to literature, education, and the humanities— including two prominent ones. In 1993, Morrison became the first black woman of any nationality to receive a Nobel Prize (in literature). Finally, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2012. The Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor given in America; therefore, showing Morrison’s importance.
As a storyteller, she never wrote dishonest accounts of American life and history. Her works often exposed the far-reaching effects of what she described as “the profound neurosis” that lies at the heart of the American psyche— racism.
She used her mastery of language to write, without apology, for African-Americans. Moreover, she wrote about the beauties, horrors, complexities, and soulfulness that shape our historical and current experiences.
Toni Morrison is a literary giant because her legacy speaks to the power of words. The power to weave words in a manner that raises questions and reveals truths about the human experience and the universal nature of life itself. She once said,
“We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.”
– Toni Morrison
By all accounts, we may find that Toni Morrison’s life and work is simply… beyond measure.
