Toni Morrison: Quotes by the American novelist on love and life
Toni Morrison’s powerful words have swayed people all over the world.
An American novelist, college professor, book editor and essayist, Toni Morrison was the first Black woman and the eighth woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. Furthermore, former President Barack Obama also presented her with the presidential media of Freedom in 2012. She also won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for her most popular book Beloved.
She passed away on August 5, 2019, at the age of 88 leaving behind her legacy that will be cherished for years to come.
From her groundbreaking speeches, interviews and essays to her power novels, she gave the world endless words of wisdom. To honour that, we give you a collection of Toni Morrison’s quotes on love and life that stand the test of time.
“Don’t tell us what to believe, what to fear. Show us belief’s wide skirt and the stitch that unravels fear’s caul.”
“Books are a form of political action. Books are knowledge. Books are reflection. Books change your mind.”
“Women’s right is not only an abstraction, a cause; it is also a personal affair. It is not only about us; it is also about me and you. Just the two of us.”
“At some point in life, the world’s beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph, paint, or even remember it. It is enough.”
“I am a believer in the power of knowledge and the ferocity of beauty, so from my point of view, your life is already artful – waiting, just waiting for you to make it art.”
“Love is divine only and difficult always. If you think it is easy you are a fool. If you think it is natural you are blind.”
“There in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had no meaning.”
“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”
“You can do some rather extraordinary thing if that’s what you really believe.”
“We mistook violence for passion, indolence for leisure, and thought recklessness was freedom.”
“Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violence people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe.”
“Language alone protects us from the scariness of things with no names. Language alone is meditation,”
