LITERATURE

The Toni Morrison Book Club

by Juda Bennett & others
Univ. of Wisconsin. Feb. 2020. 192p. ISBN 9780299324940. $17.95. LIT
COPY ISBN
In 2015, college professor friends Bennett (Toni Morrison and the Queer Pleasure of Ghosts), Winnifred Brown-Glande (Higglers in Kingston: Women’s Informal Work in Jamaica), Cassandra Jackson (Violence, Visual Culture, and the Black Male Body), and Piper Kendrix Williams (Representing Segregation: Toward an Aesthetics of Living Jim Crow), who form a diverse group of black and white, gay and straight, immigrant and American-born, gathered together and created the Toni Morrison Book Club. After two years of meetings, they crafted this personal work celebrating Morrison’s most memorable novels, including The Bluest Eye, Beloved, Song of Solomon, and A Mercy. Here, an aspect of Morrison’s writings becomes a catalyst for discussions on police brutality, immigration, xenophobia, mothering, and exoticizing black female bodies, with intimate, moving, and often funny essays evoking a thoughtfulness and honesty on the part of the authors that in turn is demanded from readers.
VERDICT All who pick up this book, from Morrison devotees to newcomers, will discover lessons in the literature to apply to their own lives. They will also feel inspired and wish to be part of a Toni Morrison Book Club of their own.
Reviewed by Stefanie Hollmichel, Univ. of St. Thomas Law Lib., Minneapolis , Jan 01, 2020
Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

NONFICTION

‘Giant’ Love: Edna Ferber, Her Best-Selling Novel of Texas, and the Making of a Classic American Film
by Gilbert, Julie
NONFICTION

Creature Needs: Writers Respond to the Science of Animal Conservation
NONFICTION

F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Composite Biography
NONFICTION

Mother of Stories: An Elegy
by Dailey, Alice
NONFICTION

A Great Gay Book: Stories of Growth, Belonging & Other Queer Possibilities
MEDIA

Ian Fleming: The Complete Man
by Shakespeare, Nicholas
More
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?