The Exhibit That Reveals Toni Morrison’s Obsessions
A display of personal materials from the late author’s archive shows her genius, the rigors of her research, and her capacious empathy.
The last time I saw the late Toni Morrison was in 2016; she was on a panel with the poet Sonia Sanchez and the writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, and they talked about art and social change. The conversation was far-reaching, and I can’t recall everything discussed. What I do remember is how Morrison responded: She told a story with each reply. When asked about the inspiration behind her debut novel, , she recalled details about a childhood friend who didn’t believe in God; it felt as if we were right there with her in the memory. The expansiveness of her answers transformed the abstraction of faith into a tangible experience. Further, it demonstrated to me how Morrison built worlds—how she took ideas and
