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The Literary Community Reacts to Toni Morrison's Death

"She gifted us with language, with courage, and with tenderness."

By Cady Drell

Aug 6, 2019

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David LevensonGetty Images

Toni Morrison, the groundbreaking author of Beloved and The Bluest Eye, died in New York City on Monday at the age of 88. The news was announced by her publisher, Alfred A. Knopf and confirmed by the New York Times. Morrison was one of the most important voices of the 20th and 21st centuries, a Pulitzer Prize winner and Nobel Laureate whose work explored African American identity, family, and the nature of art itself over her many-decade career. Her latest collection of essays and speeches, The Source of Self-Regard, was published in February.

Shortly after Morrison's passing was made public, the literary community, politicians, celebrities, and academics took to social media to celebrate the life of the extraordinary author. Below are a selection of those reactions, and we'll update as more information becomes available:

Nicola Yoon

When I was a little girl, I read everything and all the time. The Bluest Eye was the first time I saw a girl that looked like me as the main character of a book. I remember being so surprised by that.
— Nicola (@NicolaYoon) August 6, 2019

Toni Morrison taught me that a black girl could be a whole world and for that I will always be endlessly grateful.
— Nicola (@NicolaYoon) August 6, 2019

Barack Obama

Toni Morrison was a national treasure, as good a storyteller, as captivating, in person as she was on the page. Her writing was a beautiful, meaningful challenge to our conscience and our moral imagination. What a gift to breathe the same air as her, if only for a while. pic.twitter.com/JG7Jgu4p9t
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 6, 2019

Oprah Winfrey

Toni Morrison 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/nVjs88kTeg
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) August 6, 2019

Hanif Abdurraqib

I'm very sad. Toni Morrison is the greatest Ohioan who ever lived. No one was more important to my understanding of the fact that I could come from where I came from and write what I wanted to. I'm thankful for all she chose to share with us. I'm so sad about this news.
— Hanif Abdurraqib (@NifMuhammad) August 6, 2019

Roxane Gay

RIP Toni Morrison. This is a devastating loss to the world of words, to our understanding of power and it’s reach, to the cultivation of empathy, to rich, nuanced, elegant storytelling. Her work was a gift to every one who had the pleasure of reading her.
— roxane gay (@rgay) August 6, 2019

Evette Dionne

Toni Morrison’s eulogy for James Baldwin is one of the most beautiful pieces of language ever put on paper. And everything she said about him applies to her. She gifted us with language, with courage, and with tenderness. She crowned us. https://t.co/qPTkf2JEGZ
— Evette Dionne (@freeblackgirl) August 6, 2019

Aisha Saeed

George M. Johnson

“If 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 Morrison

pic.twitter.com/3MTn8MoelG
— George M Johnson (@IamGMJohnson) August 6, 2019

Elizabeth Gilbert

View this post on Instagram

Toni Morrison has passed away. My heart hurts. Her greatness was absolute. Her words changed worlds. Her work always belonged to the immortal, and her name will never be forgotten. I bow down today to this literary and moral giant. I was fortunate enough to meet her once — back in 1994, just after she had won the Nobel Prize. There are two things that I remember about that meeting. First, somebody asked her if she thought that her Nobel Prize was a gift from the universe, to make up for the pain she had recently suffered, from having her house burn down, and having lost all her papers. With simple power, she fixed the questioner with a strong gaze, and said: “The two events have nothing to do with each other. A lot of people have their homes burn down, and they are not rewarded with the Nobel Prize.” The other thing I remember is this: Somebody asked her what it felt like to get the phone call, saying that she had won the Nobel Prize. She smiled broadly and said, “I knew right away, as soon as the phone call came in, how I would respond. I knew that this was not the time to be humble. This was the time to have an enormous party, and to celebrate with everyone I loved...at someone else’s expense.” And then she burst out laughing. I will never forget the sheer joy and mightiness of that moment. How she took full ownership of her glory. How often do you hear a woman say, of her own achievement, “This is not the time to be humble”? She knew who she was. She knew WHAT she was. And she celebrated it. With great joy and power. Thank you, Toni Morrison, for what you gave us. We will forever celebrate you. (Photo by @tgs, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, whose recent collaborative documentary of Morrison, THE PIECES I AM, is a must-see.) Rest in glory, #tonimorrison

A post shared by Elizabeth Gilbert (@elizabeth_gilbert_writer) on Aug 6, 2019 at 7:51am PDT

Keith Boykin

"If you can only be tall because somebody is on their knees, then you have a serious problem. And my feeling is white people have a very, very serious problem, and they should start thinking about what they can do about it.”

Rest In Power Toni Morrisonpic.twitter.com/KD0mukv4x0
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) August 6, 2019

Imani Perry

Toni Morrison, the greatest writer in the history of this nation. And she wrote to and for US.
— Imani Perry (@imaniperry) August 6, 2019

Celeste Ng

Oh, no. So deeply saddened. Thank you for everything, Ms. Morrison. https://t.co/huR38XtyXk
— Celeste Ng (@pronounced_ing) August 6, 2019

Hari Kunza

Reports that Toni Morrison has died. One of the few indisputably great contemporary American novelists. The couple of times I met her she exuded charisma. People say of queenly women that they ‘swept into a room’. She had some serious sweep. RIP
— Hari Kunzru (@harikunzru) August 6, 2019

Vicky Mochama

We'll continue to add to this as more authors share their thoughts.

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