My mixed race granddaughters have children’s books with protagonists of color. It’s a far cry from the Dick-Jane-and-Sally books of my childhood and of the reality described by Toni Morrison’s “Bluest Eye.”
Tag Archives: Toni Morrison
Children Lit’s Changing Racial Landscape
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Bluest Eye, Childhood, Children's literature, racism, segregation Comments closed
Obama Tells Black Graduates to Soar
Michelle Obama used images of flight in a recent commencement speech at Tuskegee University. It was reminiscent of the way Toni Morrison uses flight in “Song of Solomon.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Civil Rights Movement, commencement speeches, First Lady, Michelle Obama, Song of Solomon, Tuskegee airmen, Tuskegee University Comments closed
In Praise of the Liberal Arts
NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof recently sang the praises of the liberal arts and talked about the vital importance of literature.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Ernest Hemingway, Homer, Iliad, Jhumpa Lahiri, Khaled Hosseini, Liberal arts education, Odyssey, Old Man and the Sea Comments closed
Top Post of 2014: Black Lives Matter
I repost a Toni Morrison essay on the importance of black men asserting their worth.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Eric Garner, Ferguson, killings of black men, Michael Brown, racism, Song of Solomon, Tamir Rice, violence Comments closed
Toni Morrison: Stand Up & Breathe
“I can’t breathe” has become a rallying cry for Black protesters. Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon” shows powerfully what it feels like to breathe again.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Eric Garner, LeBron j, Michael Brown, police shootings, Song of Solomon, Tamir Rice Comments closed
Literature as an Ethics Laboratory
Literature helps us explore what it means to be an ethical being.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beloved, Iris Young, Social Justice, Suzanne Langer Comments closed
“Everybody Wants a Black Man’s Life”
Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon” offers a vision of hope for targeted black teens.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged gun violence, Jordan Davis, Michael Dunn, Stand Your Ground, Trayvon Martin, violence Comments closed
Discovering the Bad Girl Within
My student’s project on literary bad girls looks at “Jane Eyre,” Toni Morrison’s “Sula,” and Margaret Atwood’s “Alias Grace.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alias Grace, Charlotte Bronte, doppelganger, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jane Eyre, Margaret Atwood, Robert Louis Stephenson, Sula, uncanny Comments closed
