Readers are needy creatures, Morrison’s letters suggest

April 14, 2024 5:14 PM

Rejection letters written by Toni Morrison when she was working at Random House.
posted by Sebmojo (5 comments total)

What a great article. I have never read anything bad about Toni Morrison, and this article makes me think very well of her. I love the idea of her building a network of Black authors even as she had to send them rejection letters.

Last year I read a reissue of a book called The Birdcatcher by Gayl Jones, whom Morrison discovered and published decades ago. I find experimental writing alienating, but I do try to read some from time to time, and I was glad I had tried The Birdcatcher. It very much deals with some of the themes Morrison found so frustrating about American publishing in the 1970s, especially the struggle for recognition of Black artists and writers. Reading this article has actually put a new light on that book for me; thank you for posting it.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 5:43 PM on April 14 [8 favorites]

Very cool, thank you.
posted by slidell at 6:08 PM on April 14

hurdy gurdy girl, if you haven't read Jones' Corregidora, I highly recommend it.
posted by dobbs at 8:00 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]

I have not read it yet! I will check it out—thank you for the recommendation.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 8:26 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]

This is a lovely read. Morrison sounds like the best teachers and mentors I've had: critical, but with patience and encouragement. She clearly was constantly mindful of, and valued, the humanity and effort of those whose work she had to reject. The world desperately needs more like her.
posted by biogeo at 8:30 PM on April 14 [6 favorites]