- The Observer
44 11.08.19 Comment & Analysis
Riddell’s view
Toni Morrison’s gift was to make black people feel seen
Her writing raised
women up and
inspired me through
key stages of my lifeI t is impossible to fully
encapsulate the magnitude and
infl uence of Toni Morrison, a
writer of such power, gravitas and
ingenuity, the rhapsodic praise
almost seems inadequate, anti-
climactic. But we must do so. We
must celebrate her. If the act of
writing makes the human experience
that much more knowable then we
must mark this moment.
Morrison’s greatest gifts – a
virtuosic feel for language andan eye for bringing the lived
experiences of black Americans to
the centre – to me seem inextricably
linked. Never has a writer been so
clear about her intention. These are
lives that matter. Here are worlds
possessing a will of their own. Hers
are characters facing structural
inequalities but they have agency,
a mesmerising pull beyond the page.
Morrison’s books also inspired
me personally. I cannot think
about her impact in my life without
remembering where I was, what I
was writing. In secondary school,
I kept diaries. I wrote strange little
prose poems, funny observations of
people who struck me for one reason
or another, on writing pads tucked
away in my rucksack or bedside
drawer.
In between supplementary
science and French classes, I read
Song of Solomon feverishly. Set
in Michigan , based on an African
American folktale about enslaved
Africans escaping slavery by fl ying
back to Africa, the novel tells the
story of Milkman Dead’s life. It
was a wonder to me to know an
author like Morrison not only
lived but fl ourished, to marvel at
the compelling protagonist , thenovel’s poetic quality, its lyricism,
its ability to stretch the possibilities
of language.
This notion of giving meaning and
multiplicity to black lives by writing
them into existence stayed with me.
I was hungry for more of her work.
Throughout different key stages
in my life, I always had one of her
books, procuring them like the bold,
incendiary pieces of fi ne art they are.
In college, I had excelled in
sociology and psychology. I was
argumentative, independent and
curious. A law career beckoned but
at university I routinely annoyed
my law professors by falling asleep
in lectures. I was still writing, this
time short monologues dissecting
the world around me. I was
reading voraciously and Morrison’s
Sula completely captured my
imagination. Spanning
50 years, it is the story
of two girls in Ohio,
polar opposites, one
the conformist, the
other the rebel. The
novel depicts the beauty,tenderness and danger of girlhood
friendship into adulthood, its
inevitable destruction and the part
that small town morality has to play.
Here, black women are given such
dimension that it was a revelation
for me, deeply emotional, a thing of
itself that seemed simultaneously a
part of and beyond the book.
Down the line, among other
things, I wrote reviews for a
black fi lm-maker’s magazine,
interviewing and writing about
industry insiders. I continued to
actively seek black voices. I read Tar
Baby , Morrison’s take on romance.
Jadine is a sophisticated black
fashion model on a Caribbean island
who fi nds herself both repelled by
and attracted to Son, a beautiful,
uneducated, antagonistic black man
on the run who challenges her in
every possible way.
The story of their affair is so
politically charged, so potent
and dynamic, it blew my
mind. Here, Morrison
maps the complicated
histories between blacks
and whites, the intra-
community betrayals
black people unleash
on each other. Icannot think of that period without
re-conjuring Son and Jadine.
The breadth of Morrison’s
repertoire is unquestionable. Her
comment that if there’s a book you
want to read that doesn’t exist, write
it, is one of the single greatest pieces
of writing advice I have encountered,
so deceptively simple one has to read
it several times to feel its effect.
Thank you, Toni, for “doing
language” so astonishingly well, for
making black people feel seen, for
raising black women up. I often think
about the intellectual capital and
value of black art, how it deserves
to be revered for its craft, not just its
cultural impact. Morrison did craft
stunningly. I will always remember
that. I will fi nd new revelations in her
books and in doing so continue to be
inspired to keep writing.Irenosen Okojie is an award-winning
novelist and short story writer.
Her collection Nudibranch will be
published by Little, Brown’s Dialogue
Books in NovemberTo buy this print or others by Chris Riddell for £30, go to guardianarchive.theprintspace.co.uk or email [email protected]tured my
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ryauty,on the run who ch
every possible
The story
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maps
histor
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oToni Morrison: ‘Breadth
of her repertoire is
unquestionable.’ON OTHER PAGES‘Toni’s irreverence was godly’
Th e New Review, pages 18-21Irenosen
Okojie
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