Toni Morrison
By
User:AllieCashel @timeAndDate(1278435200)
Famous for her epic themes, vivid dialogue and impressively complex African American characters, Toni Morrison is one of America's most talented and famous female writers. She has been recognized for her work many times, winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the American Book Award, the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Awardfiction books detailing her experience as an African American woman with the same grace and beauty of her fictional writing. All of her work has truly enriched the American Literary Cannon and is sure to be appreciated by all readers.
Popular Works
'''''The Bluest Eye''''' - First published in 1970, Morrison wrote this controversial novel while teaching at Howard University and raising her two sons on her own. Because of the themes of racism, child molestation and incest in the book, it was first released to mixed reviews (some people even wanted to ban it from school libraries) but soon became one of Morrison's most beloved novels. It depicts the life of a young black girl named Pecola living in Ohio in the years following the great depression. It was Morrison's first novel, but is just as strong as her later work and includes many of the same gripping and moving themes as all of her later work.
'''''Sula''''' - This novel, which also takes place in Ohio, tells the story of The Bottom. A small black community situated on the Ohio hills just above the wealthier white town of Medallion. When the whites take an interest in the land of The Bottom (they see potential for a golf course there) the black community is faced with the hard task of protecting their land. Published in 1973, this book was nominated for the National Book Award and began to establish Morrison as one of America's best authors.
'''''Song of Solomon''''' - After the 1977 publication of this famous novel, Morrison had fully established herself in the literary community. It tells the moving story of Macon "Milkman" Dead III, an African American male from Michigan who is on a quest to understand his identity and his ancestral identity in the complicated world of the 20th century United States. Morrison won the National Book Critics Award for this novel and it remains a favorite among many of her fans.
'''''Beloved''''' - Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for this 1987 novel which tells the depicts the life of Sethe and her daughter Denver as they try to rebuild their lives after having escaped from slavery. The novel is loosely based on the life of Margaret Garner and her two daughters. This emotional and surprising novel is filled with images that never leave your mind and lessons that everyone will think about for months after closing the book.
'''''Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination''''' fiction book, published in 1993, Morrison discusses her belief that an African American presence, largely ignored by critics, has always permeated white American literature. It is a short, but highly provocative read which considers the impact of racism on those who perpetuate it and forces reader to question whether or not they're guilty of the same perpetuation Morrison discusses in her book.
Other popular Morrison works include ''
''What Moves at the Margin''.
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