There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.
TONI MORRISONI didn’t want to speak for black people. I wanted to speak to and to be among. It’s us.
More Toni Morrison Quotes
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Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.
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At some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough.
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Black boys became criminalized. I was in constant dread for their lives, because they were targets everywhere. They still are.
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To get to a place where you could love anything you chose – not to need permission for desire – well now that was freedom.
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If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it.
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Misery don’t call ahead. That’s why you have to stay awake – otherwise it just walks on in your door.
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A writer’s life and work are not a gift to mankind; they are its necessity.
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Lonely was much better than alone.
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All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was.
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I wrote my first novel because I wanted to read it.
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All art is knowing when to stop.
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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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You don’t have to love me but you damn well have to respect me.
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Racism will disappear when it’s no longer profitable, and no longer psychologically useful. And when that happens, it’ll be gone. But at the moment, people make a lot of money off of it, pro and con.
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As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think.
TONI MORRISON