In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent. This is precisely the time when artists go to work.
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.
More Toni Morrison Quotes
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A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very much not ourselves – a special kind of double.
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Writing is really a way of thinking–not just feeling but thinking about things that are disparate, unresolved, mysterious, problematic or just sweet.
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For me the history of the place of black people in this country is so varied, complex and beautiful. And impactful.
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Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.
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Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined.
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Make a difference about something other than yourselves.
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The ability of writers to imagine what is not the self, to familiarize the strange and mystify the familiar, is the test of their power.
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Liberation means you don’t have to be silenced.
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You need a whole community to raise a child. I have raised two children, alone.
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We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.
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I’ve spent my entire writing life trying to make sure that the white gaze was not the dominant one in any of my books.
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My theory is that the world is a difficult place to live in and distraction is the name of the game.
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I type in one place, but I write all over the house.
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I think some aspects of writing can be taught. Obviously, you can’t teach vision or talent. But you can help with comfort.
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Perhaps that’s what all human relationships boiled down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it?
TONI MORRISON