I found this book to be eye opening because it was one of the first I read where I realized that African-Americans, or maybe non-Europeans in general, have an entirely different ethos I find difficult if not impossible to resonate with. Yet at the same time, I now realize what it must be like to read "great" literature that you're not represented by. And I don't mean in the sense of skin-colour alone, but culturally as well. I can read everything from Russian to South American (Western) literature and feel a connection to those stories. Suddenly I'm more open to the idea of substituting certain works with others in school curriculum.
Juan Rogers
I've only read Song of Solomon and didn't experience quite as dramatic a break, but I think Morrison is a lovely writer. I had a similar Othering experience with Fanon's Wretched of the Earth and it was a really surreal feeling.
Chase Long
>Fanon's Wretched of the Earth
Can you go into more depth about the "othering experience" you had reading this? I'll be sure to check it out regardless.
Luke Hall
Well, it was just a very definite sense that this book was written to someone that very definitely was NOT.a person like me, but also the book talked ABOUT me anf people like me in a way that made me the Other, which is something I have very rarely experienced. I was the foreign body in the universe of that text. It was wild.
Carter Gomez
>Suddenly I'm more open to the idea of substituting certain works with others in school curriculum. Maybe it's time you take the redpill and realize that Toni Morrison is inferior to me, you disgusting liberal swine. Unbeknownst to you, you are promoting white genocide
Isaac Butler
I had to read this as part of some shitty lesson. Sick.
Camden Gomez
Well the thing is, I was exactly the kind of guy that would have said "great lit is great lit, who cares who it's written by..changing the curriculum is just pandering to minority groups, etc" but now I can see how substituting some books for others like The Bluest Eye or Wretched of the Earth as recommends could be very worthwhile and enriching.
Cooper Sullivan
>muh struggle >muh oppression >this is what it's like being a black woman in America
Into the trash it goes.
Jack Gonzalez
I'm curious, and might pick up the book now. In a vague sense, what do you mean by a different ethos? I've found underlying humanity in almost all literature, and I'm assuming its present here, but what's seperate?
Elijah Moore
That is probably a good break, OP. Morrison is a really nice writer, and a lot of the ethics espoused by her characters and plots are fairly other to me, and I find them beautiful. Song of Solomon was magnificent, and besides it's obvious fantasy/myth contrivances, it felt decidedly fantastical even though it was an American story. I'd suggest that book, if you wanna read more of her.
Chase Baker
For me with Song of Solomon, there was a noticeable difference in the treatment/importance of family, possessions, spirituality, a difference in the significance of certain emotions (love meaning something kind of different than most people I know would probably say it means) and roles. These are all things that play a part in daily humanity, but the treatment was definitely different than my upbringing and the culture I live in handles those things.
Juan Gray
Btw, as the user who recommended Wretched of the Earth, I should probably also mention that it is NOT a novel, but instead a collection of essays which are written from decolonial/psychoanalytic perspective.
Joshua Ramirez
their not human XD lord kek approves!
Oliver King
I really hope you're making this joke on your own, and didn't see anything in my original post that suggested I think black people aren't human. If anything, Song of Solomon made me wish that my life was full of people more sensitive to these human feelings than they were. Made me wish people gave some time to think deeply about love, and the way they love.
Levi Wilson
You sound like a liberel. For me there's a significant difference between blacks and me. They can never attain my status and will always be inferior given how the blood in my veins is the blood of philosophers, literal kings, princes, knight errants, innovators, and the greatest artists. Morrison's blood consists entirely of the blood of rapists and savages
David Clark
I'm gonna ignore the retards who probably look less Aryan than me in the thread and talk to you. I'm at an MFA for fiction right now but did an academic thesis utilizing Morrison in relation to disparate literary traditions on trauma. I think you would love Beloved for how she provided a metatextual root for this pain. But above all I'd caution she is one of the most humanistic writers in English for how ugly her characters are. There is no ability to make caricature anyone because of their unquestionable human essence. She wrote her thesis on Faulkner and I feel she surpasses him i n capturing the genealogical failings of American. Similarly, American Pastoral by Phillip Roth captrures this human essence at its ugliest.
Caleb Cox
OP, Morrison also has a number of interviews with Charlie Rose on his site that are worth checking out.
Brody Sanchez
Lol no thanks. I'm not an idiot. I'd rather die than listen to something that cucked
Brayden Mitchell
I can definitely see the Faulkner connection, and I have a suspicion that if I read more of both authors I'd agree that Morrison may surpass Faulkner. I will definitely read Beloved next, and I am super happy to hear that someone is out there thinking critically about what she's doing and the power of her humanization of her characters. Godspeed MFA-kun.
Jason Cook
Charlie Rose is great. I'll check those out.
Jaxson Morales
>She wrote her thesis on Faulkner and I feel she surpasses him i n capturing the genealogical failings of America Wrong
Luis Wilson
You just know this is a black roastwhore writing this trying to use big words to say something, inspite of an inferior intellect. Just another attempt to bluepill, huh? A paid shill here now too?
Robert James
nah
Ryan Roberts
Listen ironic redpell senpai, I'm just saying Faulkner is better
Cameron Davis
K.
Also, for everyone interested in exploring Faulkner in relation to the thread, Intruder in the Dust is a really complex treatment of race.
Logan Sanchez
Thanks to those who have recommended other works in this thread. I'm adding some to my reading list.
Hudson Rodriguez
Interesting post OP. Not being ironic. Can anyone recommend me a good book by a black author?
Benjamin Fisher
You may want to start with Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, or Sula.
Langston Hughes' poetry is excellent.
Alice Walker's The Color People and Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God are classics for a reason.
If you're looking for something more contemporary, I suggest the memoir The Prisoner's Wife by Asha Bandele; she's got a beautiful way with words.
Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood by bell hooks
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
As I was assembling this list I realized that I apparently read way more female black authors than male black authors. If anyone has suggestions of good contemporary male black authors I'd appreciate them.
Brayden Rogers
Hey dude, happy people are still posting here. Yeah I would ignore the obvious trolls because anyone with a genuine love of art cannot deny Morrison as a master of American fiction. Whether or not you enjoy her is totally fine; I had my brother read her and Roth and Pynchon this summer and she ranked lowest, but he still agreed it was a monumental book. I think people who try to limit the definition of good writing or even suppose there is no inherent value are doing it to maintain a very poor construct of literatures function, for them namely a fashion statement at parties.
I recommend looking at Chester Himes, John Keene and Percival Everett in terms of fiction. Poetry is Rita Dove, Natasha Trethewey, Terrance Hayes and Jericho Brown.
You could also include Delaney but i feel enough people recognize him outside the canon similar to someone like Zadie Smith or Derek Walcott.