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 received in 1993. Her novel Beloved won 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. She died on Aug. 5, 2019 at the age of 88.

• 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 of Writers & Company

Interviews with Toni Morrison

Writers and Company54:00"Love" with novelist Toni Morrison (2003 encore)

The author of "Beloved," "Jazz" and "Paradise" talked to Eleanor Wachtel in 2003 about her evocative novel, called "Love."

Writers and Company52:53Toni Morrison in conversation with Eleanor Wachtel (2012)

The Nobel Prize-winning American author is being celebrated around the world following her death on Aug. 5th, 2019, at age 88.

The Sunday Edition8:13From the archives: Toni Morrison in conversation with Michael Enright

Toni Morrison, a giant of American literature and culture, died last Monday. In 1989, she spoke with Michael Enright on As It Happens, and they discussed what was then a growing movement among black Americans to refer to themselves as African-American.

Nobel laureate and novelist Toni Morrison has died at 88

3 years ago

Duration 1:59

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.

Front Burner19:14'Pick up the book and read': Canadian poets on the legacy of Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison's literary and academic career was honoured with a Pulitzer Prize, Nobel Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her writing explored, celebrated, questioned and critiqued the space of black lives in America, up until her death on Monday at the age of 88. Today on Front Burner, we speak with Halifax's former poet laureate El Jones and former poet laureate of Canada George Elliott Clarke about the importance of her work, both as a source of art, and form of activism.

More about Toni Morrison