The Cambridge Companion to Toni Morrison

Nobel laureate Toni Morrison is one of the most widely studied of contemporary American authors. Her novels, particularly Beloved, have had a dramatic impact on the American canon and attracted considerable critical commentary. This Companion introduces and examines her oeuvre as a whole, the first evaluation to include not only her famous novels, but also her other literary works (short story, drama, musical, and opera), her social and literary criticism, and her career as an editor and teacher. Innovative contributions from internationally recognized critics and academics discuss Morrison’s themes, narrative techniques, language and political philosophy, and explain the importance of her work to American studies and world literature. This comprehensive and accessible approach, together with a chronology and guide to further reading, makes this an essential book for students and scholars of African American literature.

• Explores Morrison’s entire career in fiction, criticism, teaching and editing • Covers the critical reception of her work and guides students through alternative readings • Unravels Morrison’s stance on politics, race and gender from a multicultural perspective

Chronology; Introduction: \'all necks are on the line\' Justine Tally; Part I. Toni Morrison\'s Fiction: 1. The Bluest Eye and Sula: black female experience from childhood to womanhood Ágnes Surányi; 2. Song of Solomon and Tar Baby: the subversive role of language and the carnivalesque Joyce Hope Scott; 3. Beloved or the shifting shapes of memory Claudine Raynaud; 4. Jazz and Paradise: pivotal moments in black history Shirley Anne Stave; 5. The Morrison trilogy Justine Tally; 6. Love and the survival of the black community Mar Gallego; 7. The artistic impulse of Toni Morrison\'s shorter works Abena P. A. Busia; Part II. Toni Morrison\'s Criticism and Editing: 8. Toni Morrison\'s literary criticism Hanna Wallinger; 9. Toni Morrison\'s social criticism Sämi Ludwig; 10. Toni Morrison, editor and teacher Cheryl Wall; Part III. Essays: 11. Language and narrative technique in Toni Morrison\'s novels Judylyn Ryan; 12. Toni Morrison as intellectual Dwight McBride; 13. Morrison and the critical community Deirdre J. Raynor and Johnella E. Butler; Works by Toni Morrison; Selected critical works.