Critical Companion to Toni Morrison: A Literary Reference to Her Life And Work (Critical Companion to) - Hardcover

Gillespie, Carmen

9780816062768: Critical Companion to Toni Morrison: A Literary Reference to Her Life And Work (Critical Companion to)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0816062765 ISBN 13: 9780816062768

Publisher: Facts on File, 2008

Toni Morrison, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993, is perhaps the most important living American author today, and certainly one of the most popular in college and high school courses. Her novels, including Sula, Song of Solomon, Beloved, and Paradise, have won almost every major award available to them. In addition, her influence as a critic, book editor, and mentor to other writers has been incalculable. Critical Companion to Toni Morrison examines Morrison's life and writing, featuring critical analyses of her work and themes, as well as entries on related topics and relevant people, places, and influences.

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About the Author:

Carmen R. Gillespie is professor of English and creative writing and director of the Griot Institute at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. She is the author of the books A Critical Companion to Toni Morrison, A Critical Companion to Alice Walker, as well as the poetry chapbook, Lining the Rails. She is a Cave Canem Fellow, has served as a Fulbright scholar, and has received awards and grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ohio Arts Council, the Mellon Foundation, the Bread Loaf Writer's Conference, and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown.

From Booklist:

A new release in Facts On File’s extensive Critical Companion series, this volume is the first in the series to focus on a living writer. Already firmly a part of the literary canon in academia, Toni Morrison is one of the few writers to also have a devoted following in the general public. The volume is arranged in four major parts—“Biography”; “Works A–Z”; “Related People, Places, and Topics”; and the appendixes. The 10-page biographical section includes a picture of Morrison’s birthplace and her yearbook photo from her senior year in high school. “Works A–Z” makes up the bulk of the book and is subdivided into sections devoted to novels, children’s books, nonfiction works, interviews, and speeches. Morrison is best known for her novels, and so the entries for novels contain an introduction, synopsis, critical commentary, themes and symbols, characters, and, ultimately, a list of further reading. Entries on her works other than novels are shorter but still illuminating and helpful. Some highlights are her Nobel Lecture in Literature and her essay “Clinton as the First Black President.” The next section, “Related People, Places, and Topics,” exemplifies why this volume is termed a “companion” to Morrison’s life and work. Any issue, person, or thing related to her works, or a part of the contextual background of her writing, is likely to be covered here. Topics range from Abolition to Woolf, Virginia Stephen, a subject of Morrison’s master’s thesis. These entries are followed by helpful bibliographies. Finally, the appendixes contain the expected bibliographies of primary and secondary sources and a chronology of Morrison’s life. Also included are chronologies for her novels, particularly important since the novels often abruptly shift time, place, and character point of view. The chronologies, along with all of the other facets of the volume, make this an excellent addition to academic, high-school, and public libraries. --Michael Tosko

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