Monmouth University’s sixth annual “Toni Morrison Day” began with a speech delivered by Princeton professor and Toni Morrison scholar, Dr. Autumn Womack.
President Leahy provided opening remarks in which he specifically commended Monmouth’s “first-rate” department of English, which organizes the event yearly. The tradition started after Morrison’s death in August 2019 and the then Department Chair, Dr. Susan Goulding, wanting to make an event to honor the literary icon’s enduring influence.
Dr. Goulding, previous English Department Chair and Associate Professor, said, “Toni Morrison is one of the most important American writers we have, and the legacy she gave us should live not only in her works but in celebrations and recognitions that extend her legacy.”
Dr. Womack’s keynote speech was entitled “Toni Morrison and the Power of Storytelling: Or, How to Achieve a Breakdown,” tying into this year’s event theme. Dr. Womack specifically mentioned the timeliness of the event considering the continued scrutiny and recent attacks on fields such as African American Studies.
In Morrison’s 1993 speech for the Nobel Prize in Literature, she mentions that “unmolested language surges toward knowledge, not its destruction.” This functioned as a segue to Dr. Womack’s discussion of banned books, particularly Morrison’s own. Morrison’s novels The Bluest Eye and Beloved have been frequently challenged by book regulations as well as her 1998 novel, Paradise. Dr. Womack explains that this novel particularly was banned by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which accused the novel of having “information designed to achieve the breakdown of prisons through inmate disruption such as strikes, riots, or security threat group activity.”
This is why Morrison’s novels depend so heavily on what Dr. Womack refers to as “the activation of the readerly subject.” This is when readers become an active participant in what they are reading, an uninterest in what a text should mean to what it could mean. Readers should consider their reactions to a text and why they feel that way.
When curiosity is piqued, Dr. Womack believes that is what produces conversation, consideration of what is on and off the page, and become open to what a text can become. Curiosity, however, is what is considered troublesome. As can be seen in the banning of Paradise, the Department of Justice considered free thinking dangerous but as Morrison sees it, her literature is working. When stories can stir conversation in this manner, there is true engagement between a writer and reader.
“I really liked how Dr. Womack referred to Morrison as a consistent student of craft, although we often like to think of her as a teacher. I find that dedication to remaining a student throughout one’s career is such an important detail to emphasize,” said Zafria Demiri, M.A. student in English. “I’ve always loved being a student, and I know I will never stop being one because the only way to grow is to keep on learning. We should all try to embody Morrison’s ethic in that way.”
When asked to share what she hopes to be the audience’s biggest takeaway, Dr. Womack said, “Reading is challenging and that is okay. When readers can take a story, book, or essay into their own hands, this is when true participation occurs.”
