>>>
>>> ON
>>> ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, THE WORLD LOST ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT WRITERS OF OUR
GENERATION.
GENERATION. TONY MORRISON NOVELS WERE A
COLLECTION OF WORDS AND STORIES
THAT I CANNOT NOR SHOULD I TRY
TO DESCRIBE IN WORDS.
SHE WAS A BRILLIANT WRITER WHO
SHARED IMPORTANT AND POWERFUL
NARRATIVES ABOUT BLACKNESS IN
AMERICA.
AMERICA.
AMERICA. WE THOUGHT IT FITTING TO HONOR
HER TONIGHT BEGINNING WITH THE
WORDS OF FORMER PRESIDENT
BARACK OBAMA WHEN HE AWARDED
HER THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF
FREEDOM IN 2012.
>> TONI MORRISON IS USED TO A
LITTLE DISTRACTION AS A SINGLE
MOTHER WORKING AT A PUBLISHING
COMPANY BY DAY.
SHE WOULD CARVE OUT A LITTLE
TIME IN THE EVENING TO WRITE
OFTEN WITH HER TWO SONS PULLING
ON HER HAIR AND TUGGING AT HER
EARRINGS.
EARRINGS.
EARRINGS. ONCE A BABY SPIT UP ON HER
TABLET SO SHE WROTE AROUND IT.
CIRCUMSTANCES MAY NOT HAVE BEEN
IDEAL, BUT THE WORDS THAT CAME
OUT WERE MAGICAL.
TONI MORRISON'S PROSE BRINGS
THAT EMOTIONAL THAT FEW WRITERS
EVER ATTEMPT, TONI REACHES US
DEEPLY USING A TONE THAT IS
LYRICAL, PRECISE AND INCLUSIVE
AND BELIEVES LANGUAGE ARCS
TOWARDS THE PLACE WHERE MEANING
MIGHT LIE AND THE REST OF US
ARE TO BE LUCKY TO BE FOLLOWING
ALONG FOR THE RIDE.
[ APPLAUSE ]
>> THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT
MOMENT YOU JUST SAW CANNOT BE
UNDERSTATED NOR CAN THIS.
TONI MORRISON WAS THE FIRST
BLACK WOMAN FROM ANY COUNTRY IN
THE WORLD TO BE AWARDED THE
NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE.
SHE WAS LARGER THAN LIFE.
WHILE I COULD NEVER WRITE
ANYTHING OR DO ANYTHING TO DO
HER JUSTICE, I DID SIT WITH AN
ENGLISH PROFESSOR THIS
AFTERNOON TO TALK ABOUT THE
LIFE AND WORK OF TONI MORRISON.
♪
♪
>>
>> I
>> I THINK SHE IS THE GREATEST WRITER, AMERICAN WRITER OF THE
20th CENTURY.
20th CENTURY. >> Reporter: AND THE STORY OF
HOW SHE BECAME AS MUCH AS IS
SOMETHING TO TELL.
BORN IN OHIO IN 1931, MORRISON
LOVED THE WRITTEN WORD AND
STUDIED ENGLISH AT HOWARD,
PUBLISHED BOOK AT RANDOM HOUSE.
IN THE LATE 1960s, SHE WAS A
SINGLE MOM WORKING THE
PUBLISHING DAY JOB WHEN SHE
BEGAN TO WRITE HER FIRST NOVEL
IN STOLEN MOMENTS AFTER HER
KIDS WENT TO BED.
"THE BLUEST EYE," SONG OF
SOLOMON," "BELOVED."
SOLOMON," "BELOVED." >> THERE THERE IS NO BETTER
BOOK ABOUT SLAVERY IN MY MIND.
>> Reporter: THE BOOK ABOUT A
MOTHER WHO KILLS HER OWN CHILD
SO SHE DOESN'T RETURN TO
SLAVERY.
SLAVERY.
SLAVERY. >> THAT STORY BECOMES
UNIVERSAL, RIGHT?
UNIVERSAL, RIGHT? IT BECOMES A UNIVERSAL STORY
ABOUT MOTHERS AND CHILDREN,
ABOUT HAUNTINGS, ABOUT THE
THINGS THAT WE DON'T WANT TO
TELL OURSELVES.
TELL OURSELVES. >> Reporter: MORRISON'S ABILITY
TO FIND CONNECTIVE TISSUE WAS
UNPARALLELED.
UNPARALLELED. >> SHE DOES SUCH AMAZING THINGS
WITH LANGUAGE AND SHE RENDERS
THE BLACK EXPERIENCE IN A WAY
THAT NO OTHER WRITER DOES.
I THINK IF YOU ASK A LOT OF
PEOPLE WHO HAVE RED TONI
MORRISON, WHAT IS YOUR
EXPERIENCE OF READING HER,
THEY'LL TELL YOU SOMETHING THAT
GOES BEYOND JUST LIKE SHE DOES
WORDS WELL.
WORDS WELL. IT WILL BE SOMETHING MUCH MORE
KIND OF IN THE SPIRIT, IN THE
SOUL.
SOUL.
SOUL. >>
SOUL. >> Reporter: AND MORRISON
DIDN'T JUST WRITE NOVELS.
SHE WROTE LYRICS TO AN OPERA,
CHILDREN'S BOOKS AND TAUGHT
ASPIRING WRITERS HOW TO BECOME
WRITERS IN.
WRITERS IN. >> IN A WAY, TONI MORRISON IS
ALL OF OUR TEACHER, RIGHT.
SHE DOESN'T KNOW ME, BUT HER
WORDS, HER LANGUAGE, HER --
IT'S ALL SORT OF LODGED ITSELF
IN MY SOUL AND IT'S EFFECTED ME
IN A REALLY DEEP WAY.
>> Reporter: WHAT SHE DID FOR
DR. LAWRENCE WAS UNINTENTIONAL.
>> I COULD NEVER WRITE IF I
THOUGHT THERE WOULD BE ANOTHER
VOID, ANOTHER HUGE SILENCE
ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OF BLACK
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. >> Reporter: WHEN DR. LAWRENCE
RESUMES HIS TEACHING THIS FALL,
HE WILL DO SO KEEPING MORRISON
AS HIS TEACHER.
>> I DON'T SEE A WORLD EXISTING
ANYTIME SOON WHERE THE
BRILLIANCE AND INSIGHT AND
GENIUS OF TONI MORRISON WON'T