Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am – A Multi-Faceted Woman!

My friends Bernard and Diana recommended this documentary to Robin and me, and we're very glad we saw it.  The name Toni Morrison was vaguely familiar to me, but I thought she was Van's younger and less-talented sister!  Instead, it turns out that she is one of the greatest American writers ever!  She has won both the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Pulitzer Prize, as well as been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. The film is directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, and it focuses primarily on her four most-prominent novels, as well as her profound impact on other well-known African American novelists.  The American literary establishment at the time devalued her work, but her best novels, such as "The Bluest Eye," "Sula," "Song of Solomon," and "Beloved" stand the test of time.  Her novels are about the African American experience but also involve universal themes.  It's amazing that she was able to be so prolific early on in her career, since she worked full-time as an editor at Random House and was a single mother of two. Much of the film involves Toni talking about her life and her books.  The way she talks about everything is unbelievably eloquent, intelligent, and perceptive.  There are also insights from authors she edited, including Angela Davis.  I thoroughly enjoyed comments by Walter Mosley (Novelist), Robert Gottlieb (editor-in-chief of Simon and Schuster), Fran Lebowitz (novelist and journalist), and Oprah Winfrey, too. Toni Morrison is a very important American, and it's worth knowing about her.  I plan to read "Song of Solomon" soon – unless the movie comes out first!