The tempestuous match between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka reminded me of the Nel-Sula drama in Toni Morrison’s novel.
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Tag Archives: Toni Morrison
Comey vs. Trump, Two Alpha Dogs
James Comey is right to fight for American justice against Donald Trump but his male pride helped get Trump elected. Toni Morrison describes the dynamics in “Song of Solomon.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, FBI, FBI Russia investigation, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton's e-mails, James Comey, Song of Solomon Comments closed
Magical Realism’s Special Powers
Magical realism defined and its significance discussed.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 100 Years of Solitude, Beloved, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Gunter Grass, Haruki Marakami, magical realism, Tin Drum, Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Comments closed
Like Sula, Trump Unites Old Opponents
Trump has brought liberals and center-right Republicans together in a way resembling how Sula unites the town in Toni Morrison’s novel. So what will happen after Trump leaves the stage.
Lit for Survivors Lost in a Dark Wood
Monday Commonweal recently published a heartfelt article by West Point visiting English professor Cassandra Nelson on how literature can help trauma survivors recover. Nelson begins with an angry comment about a University of Chicago dean’s facile dismissal of trigger warnings, even though she herself opposes them. She, however, speaks from the vantage point of one […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Bluest Eye, Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Child Abuse, Dante, Inferno, Junot Diaz, PTSD, trauma, trigger warnings Comments closed
Surrendering to the Air
As I zip-lined in the Smokies, I thought of the concluding paragraph of Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon.”
Ivanka Doesn’t Understand “Beloved”
When Ivanka Trump quotes Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” in her recent book, she does everything I tell my students not to: she reduces the work to herself.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beloved, Ivanka Trump, slavery, Women Who Work, working women Comments closed
Morrison: Where America Went Wrong
Toni Morrison’s 2008 novel “A Mercy” seems to start with a promising vision of America before everything goes wrong. It’s as though she starts with the optimism of the Obama years and then predicts the Trump backlash.