Results: Nobel Laureate And 'Beloved' Novelist Toni Morrison Dies
Published on 08/07/2019
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Literature in general -- and especially as the voice of the African American experience -- is a lot richer because of Toni Morrison. The acclaimed author died today, August 6, after a short illness, at the age of 88. Winner of both the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize, she wrote 11 novels, nine non-fiction works, five children's books, two short stories, and two plays throughout her 88 years of life. And the latest in her repertoire is The Source of Self-Regard, a collection of poignant personal essays, speeches, and meditations. She left behind her legacy of works, which many consider to be an indelible mark on our culture. Few American authors wrote with more humanity or with more love for language than Toni. Have you read any of these Toni Morrison works?
Beloved
11%
259 votes
The Bluest Eye
4%
103 votes
Song Of Solomon
5%
128 votes
Sula
2%
58 votes
Jazz
2%
58 votes
A Mercy
2%
49 votes
Paradise
3%
61 votes
Tar Baby
3%
83 votes
Home
2%
49 votes
God Help The Child
3%
66 votes
Playing In The Dark
2%
45 votes
Love
2%
37 votes
The Source Of Self-Regard
1%
35 votes
The Origin Of Others
1%
30 votes
What Moves At The Margin
1%
24 votes
Remember: The Journey To School Integration
1%
20 votes
None of them
40%
943 votes
Not familiar with her
46%
1102 votes
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Winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the novel "Beloved" is arguably her most well-known. It tells the story of Sethe, a former slave who escaped to Ohio in the 1870s. But despite her freedom, she finds herself haunted by the trauma of her past. In 1998, Oprah starred in the film adaptation. While not everyone agrees that this novel is a true representation of African-American experience and history, most do agree with the idea that writing acts as a means of healing or recovery. Do you think that healing can be accomplished through literature?
Absolutely
22%
522 votes
Interesting concept, but not sure if it's enough
16%
377 votes
In some cases, yes
26%
630 votes
No
13%
320 votes
Undecided
22%
532 votes
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What most seem to agree with, is that few had a way with words like Toni Morrison. Whether you have read her works or not, which of these quotes of hers do you like?
"We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives."
8%
200 votes
"If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it."
6%
134 votes
"If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."
14%
342 votes
"Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another."
10%
247 votes
"Don't ever think I fell for you, or fell over you. I didn't fall in love, I rose in it."
8%
193 votes
"At some point in life the world's beauty becomes enough. You don't need to photograph, paint, or even remember it. It is enough."
10%
243 votes
"You can't own a human being. You can't lose what you don't own. Suppose you did own him. Could you really love somebody who was absolutely nobody without you? You really want somebody like that? Somebody who falls apart when you walk out the door? You don't, do you? And neither does he. You're turning over your whole life to him. Your whole life, girl. And if it means so little to you that you can just give it away, hand it to him, then why should it mean any more to him? He can't value you more than you value yourself."
14%
324 votes
"Anger ... it's a paralyzing emotion ... you can't get anything done. People sort of think it's an interesting, passionate, and igniting feeling—I don't think it's any of that—it's helpless ... it's absence of control—and I need all of my skills, all of the control, all of my powers ... and anger doesn't provide any of that—I have no use for it whatsoever."
15%
348 votes
"The function of freedom is to free someone else."
9%
214 votes
"As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think."
7%
166 votes
I like them all
23%
543 votes
None
37%
888 votes
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I am not black, but I can say without a doubt, that reading "Beloved" back in 1987 opened my eyes to what the black slaves went through, and instilled in me my passion for human rights and standing up for stopping discrimination of all kinds. I know many of you will say it was the Bible, if I know this forum, but has there been one book that you can credit for changing your life?
Yes
15%
366 votes
No
43%
1014 votes
I don't read
16%
384 votes
There have been several
26%
617 votes
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