Toni Morrison: ‘I’m writing for black people … I don’t have to apologise’

[Ikhide]

"Most writers claim to abhor labels but Morrison has always welcomed the term “black writer”. “I’m writing for black people,” she says, “in the same way that Tolstoy was not writing for me, a 14-year-old coloured girl from Lorain, Ohio. I don’t have to apologise or consider myself limited because I don’t [write about white people] – which is not absolutely true, there are lots of white people in my books. The point is not having the white critic sit on your shoulder and approve it” – she refers to the writer James Baldwin talking about “a little white man deep inside of all of us”. Did she exorcise hers? “Well I never really had it. I just never did.”"

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/25/toni-morrison-books-interview-god-help-the-child?CMP=share_btn_tw


- Ikhide

[kwame zulu shabazz]

Toni Morrison is one of my literary role models. We need more unapologetically black writers/writing.

kzs

[Einar Schlereth]

I can say that I loved Toni Morrison's books. But now I got to know that she is a FRIEND of Obama and Hillary! What in heaven happened to her? She seems to be as dumb as the majority of the American people. Disgusting. The most criminal people of all people in the world by now.

[kwame zulu shabazz]

I love Toni Morrison the writer--her political views not so much. (Morrison's declaration that Bill Clinton was the "first Black president" was also insulting).

Im African American and I am *very* critical of Obama. That said, the vast majority of my tribe love the Obamas.

I get it.

For most of our existence in America, voting while black was punishable by death. And when we could vote, we have been voting for white people for over a century. So, in my view, the enthusiastic support for a Black president is unsurprising.

Forward ever,

Brother Shabazz

--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDial...@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/usaafricadialogue/8sbFZs5UWSU/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Einar Schlereth]

You're right, brother Shabazz, At the time Obama was elected I was recommending to vote for Cynthia McKinney. America would have got a first black AND female president - a people's president not a Wallstreet president.

[Samuel Zalanga]

Brother Shabazz,

Thanks for your comment. I saw an interview with her and found it interesting. Of course I have no background in literature although I got fascinated with it while teaching Western Humanities.

I thought however that  your observation and her own way of characterizing her work ignored one important issue of our times: "the death of the author." To the extent that no matter how how you think of yourself and your work, and irrespective of how careful you are in writing to covey your ideas, ultimately, you have no absolute control over how everyone reads your work and how they interpret it.

While there maybe good or fair reading and understanding, the key issue is the author has no absolute control over the reader's mind and interpretation. You would of course want the readers to understand you the way you intended but interpretation or meaning-making is influenced by so many factors and variables that are beyond the author's absolute control.

Sartre gained a huge popularity over his interpretation of Heidegger's work, which Heidegger insisted was a wrong interpretation of his work. Sometimes interesting insights can emerge out of what is either a wrong or unintended interpretation of an original piece.

Life his complex.

Samuel

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com.

[kwame zulu shabazz]

Peace, Brother Samuel. Agree in principle with "death of the author" and authorial intent. In fact I teach it (even if I dont use that phrasing). However, in Morrison's case, her intent of foregrounding black people and writing for a black audience doesn't seem to get lost. And I like that she states her intent and is unapologetic about it. Where she and I part ways is her politics beyond literature, namely cheerleading for Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

kzs