Jazz

In the winter of 1926, when everybody everywhere sees nothing but good things ahead, Joe Trace, middle-aged door-to-door salesman of Cleopatra beauty products, shoots his teenage lover to death. At the funeral, Joe's wife, Violet, attacks the girl's corpse.

This passionate, profound story of love and obsession brings us back and forth in time, as a narrative is assembled from the emotions, hopes, fears, and deep realities of black urban life. (From Vintage)

Toni Morrison was the first Black woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she receivedin 1993. Her novelBelovedwon the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1988. Morrison's writing explored the dynamic between society and the individual from a Black American perspective, bringing to light the cruel legacy of slavery. Shedied on Aug. 5, 2019at the age of88.

• Remembering Toni Morrison: the iconic author reflects on family, race and coping with personal tragedy
• How Toni Morrison inspired me, and why her life's mission matters
• 30 books to celebrate 30 years ofWriters & Company

Interviews with Toni Morrison

Nobel laureate and novelist Toni Morrison has died at 88

5 years ago

Duration 1:58

Morrison was a pioneer and reigning giant of modern literature whose imaginative power in Beloved, Song of Solomon and other works transformed American letters by dramatizing the pursuit of freedom within the boundaries of race.

More about Toni Morrison