Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined.
TONI MORRISONDefinitions belong to the definers, not the defined.
TONI MORRISONYou have to be a little tough, and rely on yourself. And tell people ‘No’.
TONI MORRISONIf you can only be tall because someone else is on their knees, then you have a serious problem. And white people have a very, very serious problem.
TONI MORRISONBlack boys became criminalized. I was in constant dread for their lives, because they were targets everywhere. They still are.
TONI MORRISONAll art is knowing when to stop.
TONI MORRISONAll water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was.
TONI MORRISONAll paradises, all utopias are designed by who is not there, by the people who are not allowed in.
TONI MORRISONAt some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough.
TONI MORRISONOppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence; does more than represent the limits of knowledge; it limits knowledge.
TONI MORRISONA friend gathers all the pieces and gives them back in the right order.
TONI MORRISONMy theory is that the world is a difficult place to live in and distraction is the name of the game.
TONI MORRISONBeing able to laugh got me through.
TONI MORRISONPassion is never enough; neither is skill.
TONI MORRISONThe ability of writers to imagine what is not the self, to familiarize the strange and mystify the familiar, is the test of their power.
TONI MORRISONIf there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it.
TONI MORRISONWe mistook violence for passion, indolence for leisure, and thought recklessness was freedom.
TONI MORRISON