Top 30 Toni Morrison Quotes To Inspire You

Welcome to the world of Toni Morrison quotes, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and Nobel laureate, who has left behind a treasure trove of insightful and thought-provoking quotes.

Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970.

From her groundbreaking debut novel, “The Bluest Eye,” to masterpieces like “Beloved” and “Song of Solomon,” Morrison’s body of work transcends genre and defies easy categorization.

In addition to her literary achievements, Toni Morrison was also a trailblazer in academia, breaking barriers as one of the first Black female editors in the industry and later serving as a distinguished professor at Princeton University.

Throughout her life, she used her platform to advocate for social justice, championing the voices of marginalized communities and challenging prevailing narratives of American history and identity.

Toni Morrison passed away on August 5, 2019, leaving behind a literary legacy that will endure for generations to come.

Top 10 Toni Morrison Quotes

1. “You are your best thing.” — Toni Morrison, (Beloved) 

   
2. “Love is or it ain’t. Thin love ain’t love at all.” — Toni Morrison, (Beloved) 

   

3. “Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined.” — Toni Morrison, (Beloved) 

   

4. “I don’t want to make somebody else. I want to make myself.” — Toni Morrison, (Sula)
5. “If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it.” — Toni Morrison, (Song of Solomon) 

   

6. “In this country, American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate.” — Toni Morrison
7. “You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.” — Toni Morrison, (Song of Solomon)
8. “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” — Toni Morrison
9. “Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.” — Toni Morrison, (Beloved)
10. “We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.” — Toni Morrison

Famous Quotes By Toni Morrison

1. “The function of freedom is to free someone else.” — Toni Morrison
2. “Love is never any better than the lover.” — Toni Morrison, (The Bluest Eye)
3. “A writer’s life and work are not a gift to mankind; they are its necessity.” — Toni Morrison
4. “As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think.” — Toni Morrison
5. “Tell us what it is to be a woman so that we may know what it is to be a man.” — Toni Morrison
6. “What’s the world for you if you can’t make it up the way you want it?” — Toni Morrison, (Jazz)
7. “You can do some rather extraordinary things if that’s what you really believe.” — Toni Morrison
8. “My world did not shrink because I was a black female writer. It just got bigger.” — Toni Morrison
9. “Don’t ever think I fell for you, or fell over you. I didn’t fall in love, I rose in it.” — Toni Morrison, (Jazz)
10. “If you can only be tall because somebody is on their knees, then you have a serious problem.” — Toni Morrison

Best Toni Morrison Quotes

1. “I have a lot of respect for readers because I’m a reader. That’s how I got into writing.” —  Toni Morrison
2. “The human body is robust. It can gather strength when it’s in mortal danger.” — Toni Morrison, (Song of Solomon)
3. “Beauty was not simply something to behold; it was something one could do.” — Toni Morrison, (The Bluest Eye)
4. “We mistook violence for passion, indo- lence for leisure, and thought recklessness was freedom.” —  Toni Morrison, (The Bluest Eye)
5. “Don’t let anybody, anybody convince you this is the way the world is and therefore must be. It must be the way it ought to be.” —  Toni Morrison
6. “Love is divine only and difficult always. If you think it is easy you are a fool. If you think it is natural you are blind.” — Toni Morrison, (Paradise)
7. “I don’t think a female running a house is a problem, a broken family. It’s perceived as one because of the notion that a head is a man.” —  Toni Morrison
8. “At some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph, paint or even remember it. It is enough.” — Toni Morrison, (Tar Baby)
9. “When I woke up I reminded myself that freedom is never free. You have to fight for it. Work for it and make sure you are able to handle it.” — Toni Morrison, (God Help the Child)
10. “Look to yourself. You free. Nothing and nobody is obliged to save you but you… Somewhere inside you is that free person I’m talking about. Locate her and let her do some good in the world.” — Toni Morrison, (Home)

Toni Morrison Life And Other Facts

1. Toni Morrison, born February 18, 1931, Lorain, Ohio, U.S.—died August 5, 2019, Bronx, New York.
2. Morrison was born Chloe Ardelia Wofford but later adopted the name “Toni” during her college years. “Morrison” came from her former husband, Harold Morrison.
3. She was the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988 for her novel “Beloved” and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. She was the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
4. Morrison was inspired to write her first novel, “The Bluest Eye,” after observing the effects of racism and beauty standards on young Black girls while working as an editor.
5. In 2012, Morrison was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for her contributions to literature and culture.
6. Morrison’s impact on literature and culture extends far beyond her written works. She is revered as one of the most important voices in American literature, and her legacy continues to inspire writers, scholars, and activists around the world.

Conclusion

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