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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.

Toni Morrison

We mistook violence for passion, indolence for leisure, and thought recklessness was freedom.
TONI MORRISON

Freedom Leisure Passion Violence
Liberation means you don’t have to be silenced.
TONI MORRISON

Liberty Silence
Like any artist without an art form, she became dangerous.
TONI MORRISON

Artist Danger She Women
Beauty was not simply something to behold; it was something one could do.
TONI MORRISON

Beautiful Women
I want to discourage you from choosing anything or making any decision simply because it is safe. Things of value seldom are.
TONI MORRISON

Choose Decision Discourage Safe Seldom Value Want
Anything dead coming back to life hurts.
TONI MORRISON

Come Back Dead Deep Hurt Life
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.
TONI MORRISON

Book Dominant Life Spend Try White Writing
I wrote my first novel because I wanted to read it.
TONI MORRISON

Book Excitement Want Writing
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 MORRISON

Civilization Despair Fear Healing Language Silence Time Writing
Freedom is choosing your responsibility. It’s not having no responsibilitie s; it’s choosing the ones you want.
TONI MORRISON

Choose Freedom Responsiblity Want
Writing is really a way of thinking–not just feeling but thinking about things that are disparate, unresolved, mysterious, problematic or just sweet.
TONI MORRISON

Disperate Mystery Problem Sweet Thinking Writing
There is an incredible amount of magic and feistiness in black men that nobody has been able to wipe out. But everybody has tried.
TONI MORRISON

Amount Black Lives Matter Magic Men
A writer’s life and work are not a gift to mankind; they are its necessity.
TONI MORRISON

Gift Life Mankind Necessary Work Writing
Sometimes what I write on the page frightens me, so I feel free when I write, but I don’t feel safe.
TONI MORRISON

Feeling Safe Writing
She learned the intricacy of loneliness: the horror of color, the roar of soundlessness and the menace of familiar objects lying still.
TONI MORRISON

Colour Horror Learning Loneliness She
When there is pain, there are no words. All pain is the same.
TONI MORRISON

Broken Heart Pain Sad Suffering

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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We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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