What we covered here
- American author Toni Morrison has died. She was 88.
- You can read through her most powerful quotes here.
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Remembering Toni Morrison
15 Posts
Our live coverage has ended, but you can scroll through the posts below to read more about Toni Morrison’s life.
Beto O'Rourke says Toni Morrison's words are "a lesson for our county"
Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke used one of Toni Morrison’s quotes in her honor.
O’Rourke, who is from El Paso, Texas, has been heavily focused on the aftermath of the deadly shooting that took place there over the weekend.
Hillary Clinton: "She took her own advice and shared it with others"
Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton quoted Toni Morrison in her tweet honoring her.
Kamala Harris: Toni Morrison was "one of our greatest voices"
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris just tweeted about Toni Morrison’s death, calling her “one of our greatest voices and storytellers.” She added that the “world shines a little less bright today.”
Tim Cook: "Thank you, Toni Morrison, for the beauty you revealed in our world"
Apple CEO Tim Cook quoted Toni Morrison’s 1993 Nobel Lecture as he paid tribute to the writer on Twitter.
Morrison wrote almost a dozen novels
Toni Morrison, who didn’t publish her first book until she was almost 40, penned roughly a dozen novels, most lauded among them 1987’s “Beloved,” about a former slave who kills her baby to ensure it is never enslaved. “Beloved” won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Her books gazed unflinchingly on the lives of African Americans and told their stories with a singular lyricism. Her talent for intertwining the stark realities of black life with hints of magical realism and breathtaking prose gained Morrison a loyal literary following.
Themes such as slavery, misogyny, colorism and supernaturalism came to life in her hands.
Her non-fiction work included 1974’s collection of African-American historical ephemera “The Black Book,” 1992’s “Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination” and 2004’s “Remember: The Journey to School Integration.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar: "Holding all those touched by Toni Morrison in my heart today"
Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, just tweeted a photo of Toni Morrison and one of her most well-known quotes.
“Holding all those touched by Toni Morrison in my heart today,” she wrote.
3 powerful quotes from Toni Morrison
Legendary American author Toni Morrison always moved people with her words. Here’s a look at some of her most powerful quotes
On writing:
On women:
On love:
You can read more of Morrison’s best quotes here.
Shonda Rhimes: Toni Morrison "made me understand 'writer' was a fine profession"
Shonda Rhimes, one of the best-known producers in television, honored “Queen” Toni Morrison.
“She made me understand ‘writer’ was a fine profession. I grew up wanting to be only her,” Rhimes tweeted.
Here’s her full tweet:
Morrison was almost 40 when she published her first book
Toni Morrison — who was nearly 40 when she published her first novel in 1970 — wasn’t an overnight success.
The author was born Chloe Anthony Wofford on February 18, 1931, in Lorain, Ohio.
In 1953, she graduated from Howard with a degree in English; she went on to earn a master’s from Cornell University in 1955. She began her storied career in letters as a college instructor at Texas Southern University and later at Howard, her alma mater.
In 1963, she took a position as a book editor at Random House based in Syracuse, New York, where she worked for 20 years before leaving in 1983. Morrison was editing the works of others when she published her first novel at age 39.
“The Bluest Eye,” about an impoverished and abused black girl who longs for blue eyes, was met with middling reviews, but gained prestige when it was added to the City University of New York curriculum.
“Required reading,” Morrison has said. “Therein lies the success.”
The novel has been challenged and called offensive over the years by parents in communities across the country who say the subject matter, which involves incest and violence, is too raw for young readers.
Barack Obama gave Toni Morrison the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012
Then-President Barack Obama awarded Toni Morrison the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.
“I remember reading ‘Song of Solomon’ when I was a kid and not just trying to figure out how to write but also how to be and how to think,” Obama said at the ceremony, referecing to Morrison’s 1977 novel.
Here is some of the information released by the White House on why Morrison was selected:
Merriam-Webster remembered Toni Morrison with this poignant quote
The Merriam-Webster dictionary just tweeted out the definition of “beloved,” a nod to Toni Morrison’s award-winning book.
The tweet also included a quote from Morrison’s 1993 Nobel Lecture.
Here’s the tribute:
Stacey Abrams: Morrison "destroyed precepts, walls and those who dared underestimate her capacity"
Stacey Abrams, who ran for Georgia governor last year, remembered Toni Morrison was a “towering intellect” and a “a groundbreaking author who destroyed precepts, walls and those who dared underestimate her capacity.”
“Rest well and in peace,” Abrams wrote.
Abrams this year became the first black woman to give the Democratic response to the State of the Union.
Here’s her full tribute:
Toni Morrison was the first African-American woman to win a Nobel Prize
Toni Morrison was the awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993, making her the first African-American woman to win a Nobel Prize.
Years earlier, in 1988, she won a Pulitzer Prize for her book “Beloved.”
Toni Morrison dead at 88
CNN has confirmed author Toni Morrison is dead at the age of 88, according to her publisher.
She died last night at Montefiore Medical Center in New York.
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