Toni Morrisons Spiritual Vision, Nadra Nittle
Toni Morrisons Spiritual Vision, Nadra Nittle
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Toni Morrison's Spiritual Vision
Faith, Folktales, and Feminism in Her Life and Literature

Author: Nadra Nittle

Narrator: Lisa Reneé Pitts

Unabridged: 6 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/08/2022


Synopsis

When Toni Morrison died in August 2019, she was widely remembered for her contributions to literature as an African American woman, an identity she wore proudly. Morrison was clear that she wrote from a Black, female perspective and for others who shared her identity. But just as much as she was an African American writer, Toni Morrison was a woman of faith.

Morrison filled her novels with biblical allusions, magic, folktales, and liberated women, largely because Christianity, African American folk magic, and powerful women defined her own life. Her relatives, particularly her mother, were good storytellers, and her family's oral tradition included ghost stories and African American folktales. But her family was also Christian. As a child, Morrison converted to Catholicism and chose a baptismal name that truly became her own—Anthony, from St. Anthony of Padua—going from Chloe to Toni. Morrison embraced both Catholicism and the occult as a child and, later, as a writer. She was deeply religious, and her spirituality included the Bible, the paranormal, and the folktales she heard as a child.

Toni Morrison's Spiritual Vision unpacks this oft-ignored, but essential, element of Toni Morrison's work—her religion—and in so doing, gives listeners a deeper, richer understanding of her life and her writing.

About Nadra Nittle

Nadra Nittle is a Los Angeles-based journalist who has been a staff writer for Vox Media, Digital First Media, and the Gannett/USA Today network. Her writing has also appeared in the Atlantic, the Guardian, the New York Times, Salon, and religious publications such as Outreach and America magazines. She is the author of Recognizing Microaggressions.


Reviews

This is the August 2022 selection of South Austin Spiritual Book Group.......more

Goodreads review by Tamyka

This book isn’t what I thought it was going to be about but I still loved it and learned A LOT from it. I have to go back and reread some of Toni Morrison’s books because I missed some stuff in them based on this text analysis. If you are interested in Toni Morrison or how authors weave their lives......more

Goodreads review by Audrey

Despite being under 200 pages, Nittle has packed in a lot of illuminating information. She balances discussion of Morrison's life and literary analysis very well. It never felt like there was too much coverage of one or the other. The other great thing about this book, is that it's quite accessible......more

Goodreads review by Lauren

A very informative book. I have to admit my favorite chapter was the first one. As an admirer of Toni Morrison and reader and collector of all her work, I found themes in this book that I had not read in some of Morrison’s books. Caution: try not to read this book when you’re feeling blue.......more

Goodreads review by Matt

Nadra Little provides a superb examination of the subtle ways Toni Morrison's work blends together elements of her Catholic beliefs with African folklore. The accessibility of Little's prose makes this an easy recommend to younger academics as well as to a general non-academic audience.......more