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BCR Leading Ladies: Toni Morrison, First Black Woman to Win a Nobel Prize in Literature

by Kristen King on February 28th, 2008

TONI MORRISON was born in 1931 as Chloe Anthony Wofford, but was known as “Toni” during college, short for her middle name. She holds a BA from Howard University and a master’s degree from Cornell. Morrison started writing fiction during her years as a Howard student. One of her earlier stories eventually evolved into the well-known novel The Bluest Eye, which was an Oprah’s Book Club selection in 2000.

Well-known and critically acclaimed works by Toni Morrison include:

• Sula (nominated for a National Book Award in 1973)
• Song of Solomon (first book by a black author chosen for the main selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club since Richard Wright’s Native Son)
• Tar Baby (1981)
• Beloved (critical success in 1988 but overlooked for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award; awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1988; named by the New York Times as the best American novel of the last 25 years in 2006)
• Jazz (1992)
• Paradise (Oprah’s Book Club) (1999)
• Love: A Novel (2003)
• A Mercy (2008)

Morrison also has a handful works in other genres including drama, nonfiction, short stories, children’s literature, articles, and a libretto. Her career has included teaching positions at Howard University, State University of New York at Albany, Princeton, and Texas Southern University. She retired from teaching in 2006, where she had been the Robert F. Goheen Chair in the Humanities since 1989. In 1993, Toni Morrison was the eighth woman and first black woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature.

Sources:

• Toni Morrison in Wikipedia
• NobelPrize.org
• Women’s History at About.com
• Distinguished Women of Past and Present
• Biography.com

Tags: women in business, black history month, black women leaders, toni morrison, first african american woman to win a nobel prize in literature, first black woman to win a nobel prize in literature, the bluest eye, sula, song of solomon, tar baby, jazz, love, a mercy, paradise, beloved, national book award, best novel of the last 25 years, pulitzer prize, oprah’s book club, biz chicks rule, leading ladies, business advice for women, kristen king

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