Resources

Excerpts from Toni Morrison’s 1955 Cornell Master’s Thesis

Videos

Toni Morrison at 90: Examining Her Powerful and Lasting Influence

Toni Morrison, M.A ’55, is one of Cornell’s most beloved alumni. Although she left us in 2019, her work continues to both resonate and inspire. On what would have been her 90th birthday (February 18, 2021), a panel of international scholars will discuss how Morrison’s scholarship and art have impacted writers, critics, and readers, and why her work still feels so fresh and vital today. This special event is part of the College of Arts & Sciences’ Arts Unplugged series and a yearlong celebration of a literary icon whose first book, “The Bluest Eye,” recently marked its 50th anniversary. Please join us as we celebrate Toni Morrison’s life, career, and enduring legacy. Read more

Reading the Writing: A Conversation with Toni Morrison

Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, M.A. '55, returned to campus March 7, 2013 for a conversation about literature, politics and, especially, language. She answered questions posed to her by longtime friend and colleague Claudia Brodsky, a professor of comparative literature at Princeton University, where Morrison is the Robert F. Goheen Chair Emerita in the Humanities. Read more

'We Do Language': History, Meaning & Language in the Novels of Toni Morrison

In honor of Cornell's sesquicentennial, the English department recognized Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison, M.A. '55, one of its most distinguished alumni, as the subject of the annual Wendy Rosenthal Gellman Lecture on Modern Literature. The lecture was given on March 5, 2015 by noted Morrison scholar Farah Jasmine Griffin. Read more

Additional Cornell Resources

Toni Morrison: Literary Icon - Library Guide: This guide is designed to help locate material relating to the works Toni Morrison. Included are listing of her novels, works of non-fiction and children’s books. It also provides links to noteworthy interviews, critiques of her work and tributes.
Cornell Celebrates Toni Morrison: A Teach-in on Morrison as writer and scholar [video]: Toni Morrison, M.A. ’55, is one of Cornell’s most beloved alumni. One year after her death and a half-century after the publication of her first book, “The Bluest Eye,” Morrison’s words continue to resonate, particularly during this national moment of reckoning. In this session, Cornell faculty will discuss Morrison’s literary legacy as well as her scholarly work, then participate in a live Q&A with the audience.

Toni Morrison Collective