TONI MORRISON.

I cannot describe how much I love Toni Morrison and her books.  I've read Song of Solomon, The Bluest Eye, and Beloved twice each, as well as a few of her others.  I just love her style of writing, the subject matter, and the characters, and today, on Toni Morrison Day (as announced by the DC government!), I got to see her for the SECOND time!  Once was enough of an honor, but now TWICE?!  Too good to be true.

Here she is!  What a lady.

But alas, it is true!  As a result of the efforts of my former professor and another highly-regarded writer, Evelyn Schreiber, Professor Morrison came to Lisner Auditorium last night to read from her latest work, A Mercy, and give a brief snippet of the piece she's currently working on, entitled Home.  When she revealed the title, the entire audience responded with a resounding "hooomeee..." as if on cue.  It was really cool that we all just did that without thinking--and after realizing it, we all laughed at ourselves.  Toni just does that to you.  She's the bomb.

Needless to say, my heart was aflutter the entire time, and I hung onto every single word as if she was explaining the meaning of life.  She was also REALLY funny!  The first time I saw her was a few years ago in high school, and she was kind of stoic and not as chatty, I was a bit intimidated.  This time, she was so relatable and just full of laughter and kindness!  She even dragged out the Q&A section a bit longer to accommodate eager questioners.

All in all, tonight was fantastic.  When you visit GW, go see the bench dedicated as part of her Bench by the Road Project.  It's a lasting testament to the abominations of slavery as well as the total awesomeness of Toni Morrison.

Not often you see slavery and total awesomeness in one sentence, eh?  That's what Toni provides.  Go read Song of Solomon NOW!

Email me with any info your heart desires!  Unless it's hating on Toni.  shireens@gwmail.gwu.edu

<3Shireen