I couldn’t help reacting to the breaking news that Toni Morrison, one of the most acclaimed authors of our times, has passed. She was 88 years old. Among her many honors, Ms. Morrison will be remembered as winner of the Pulitzer prize, the Nobel prize, the Légion d’Honneur and a Presidential Medal of Freedom presented to her in 2012 by Barack Obama. 

I was first introduced to Toni Morrison’s work when I selected the 1981 novel Tar Baby for a college English assignment. At the time I’d only heard of Ms. Morrison and was curious to see what made her stand out as one of the literary geniuses of our time.

Tar Baby, with its vivid portrayal of the love/hate relationship between Jadine Childs, a black fashion model and the enigmatic black fugitive, Son, drew me in from the first line (like a tar baby) and held me right down to the last. From then I was hooked by Ms. Morrison’s writing and went on to devour all her works.

Toni Morrison

However, much as I admire her work, I must admit that some of her writing is anything but clear. Some years ago, I wrote about Toni Morrison on this blog:
What I love about Ms. Morrison’s writing is her inimitable way of animating her  descriptions, such that the settings become characters in themselves. Some of her narrative can be very complex and multi-layered, not to mention some of  the subject matter which can be very gothic, making them  difficult to digest, but once you have got it, you savor each bite down to the last morsel. African American literature, and history,  owes a great debt to this extraordinary woman.

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Langston Hughes photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1936.

As you all know, February is Black History month, the time when we celebrate the achievements of black folk here in America. As I researched on Google for an author to feature this week, I came across Langston Hughes, famous playwright, novelist, poet and social activist. Of course, I’d read many of his poems (who hasn’t?) but never knew that  I shared the same birth date – Feb. 1 – as this illustrious scribe.

Born of mixed heritage – his paternal great-grandfathers were of European descent, while his maternal great-grandmothers were African American – Hughes took pride in his African-American identity and stressed this in his work.

While in high school in Cleveland, Ohio, Hughes wrote for the school newspaper, edited the yearbook and began to write short stories, poetry and dramatic plays. He wrote his first piece of jazz poetry — a literary art form in which the poet responds and writes about jazz — “When Sue Wears Red” while still in high school.

Hughes’ first book of poetry “The Weary Blues” (1926) features the poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” which became a signature poem. In 1930, he won the Harmon Gold Medal for Literature for his first novel, Not Without Laughter. Hughes went on to write many short stories, novels, essays, works for children, autobiographies, plays, and later formed a theater troupe in Los Angeles.

Although a major influence during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, Hughes was highly critical of other Renaissance men such as W.E.B Du Bois and others who, he felt, were too accommodating of eurocentric values and culture. In addition to his literary prowess, Hughes racial consciousness inspired and united black writers not only in America but around the globe.  He had a major influence on writers  such as Jacques Roumain, Nicolás Guillén, Léopold Sédar Senghor, and Aimé Césaire.  Hughes was greatly admired by young black writers whom he discovered and helped by introducing them to the publishing world. One such example is Alice Walker author of The Color Purple.

Reading and writing about this great man is like searching through an encyclopedia, trying to extract the most significant facts about his life and not knowing where to begin. The task is the same when it comes to his poems. However, I selected a few lines from The Negro Mother which is very touching to me and which, I believe, is so pertinent to these times.

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Image via Wikipedia

I could not let Black History month go out without writing something about Toni Morrison, recipient of many distinguished literary awards and the first black woman to win a Nobel prize in  Literature.  Her real name is Chloe Anthony Wofford, but she changed it to Toni to coincide with her middle name since many people could not pronounce her first name correctly. Toni was an excellent student who loved to read and in first grade she was the only black student who could read.

Toni graduated from Howard University in Washington, DC with a bachelor’s degree in English before moving to Cornell University, New York where she graduated with a master’s degree. Toni’s first job was as a teacher in Texas University. She was later offered a job as an editor with Random House where she edited the works of prominent figures like Muhammad Ali, Angela Davis and Andrew Young.  (more…)

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