TONI MORRISON was born in Ohio in 1931. She began writing while teaching literature at Howard University and went on to publish her first novel, The Bluest Eye in 1970. She has since published eleven novels, including Song of Solomon and the Pulitzer-prize winning Beloved, as well as many non-fiction books and plays.
Morrison’s writing is tirelessly engaged with issues of race and racism. The Bluest Eye explores what it means to be ‘beautiful’ in a world where whiteness monopolizes the mind, while Beloved plumbs the psychological pain and fracture, as well as the inconceivable sacrifices of those living under the tyranny of slavery. Her essay, ‘Making America White Again’ (which is also included in this book) examines the state of race relations in the Trump era.
Among the many prizes her work has been awarded, Morrison was presented with the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.