In honour of the acclaimed Toni Morrison, this course introduces you to aspects of her rich biography as well as some of her fiction and non-fiction. It will give you the chance to explore and/or revisit this writer’s life, her deep imagination, stellar use of language and also her opinions and generous wisdom.

Toni Morrison became the first Black and African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature in 1993 for her novel Beloved. Her work has centred on narrating the lives of Black people in American society, in their fullest complexities. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye(1970) depicts the tragedy of self-loathing through the eyes of a young black girl (Pecola) who longs for blond hair, lighter skin and blue eyes – a miracle from God – she believes might give her a sense of belonging. This book will be required reading for the introductory course, along with extracts from other works of fiction and non-fiction.

Course aims:Whether you are familiar with or new to Toni Morrison this course offers a chance to celebrate the life and work of a phenomenal writer. By exploring selected fiction and non-fiction works the course enables students to discuss her contributions to African-American and wider African Diasporic experiences and questions of identity.

Teaching & Learning:

This course will take place at the historic New Beacon Books and George Padmore Institute on Stroud Green Road in Finsbury Park. It will use a mixture of styles including presentations, group discussions and readings. All will be encouraged to take part in seminar discussions.

It will run on Tuesdays for 4 weeks starting on Tuesday 28th January 2020 and end on Toni Morrison’s birthday 18th February (she would have been 89 years old).

Booking is essential.

Course Tutors

Nicole-Rachelle Moore is a Cultural Educational Consultant and Administrator at the GPI [George Padmore Institute] – where the public can access a wide-ranging archive of rare publications relating principally to the experience of the Black community nationally and internationally from the 1960s onwards. Nicole also works with the pioneering publishers New Beacon Books. She regularly consults on a range of cultural and educational issues at schools, colleges and other institutions. Caribbean Studies and Post Colonial Cultures are her areas of her research interest.

Dr Michelle Yaa Asantewa is a writer, editor and independent scholar. She facilitates a variety of workshops that are academic, creative, spiritual and cultural. She is the founder of Way Wive Wordz Publishing, Editing and Tuition Services, through which she has published novels Elijah, Something Buried in the Yard, The Awakening collection of poems, a book on African derived spiritual practice: Guyanese Komfa: the ritual art of Trance and Mama Lou Tales: a folkloric biography of a Guyanese Elder. She writes a regular blog at waywivewordzspiritualcreative which combines spiritual, social, cultural and artistic expression.