šThe Source of Self-Regard by Toni Morrisonš How do I capture Morrisonās essence? This space, these words, this alphabet isnāt enough. Gilt-edged letters, written over reams of crushed petals, trimmed with Chantilly lace, sparkling with wit and wisdom commensurate to Morrisonās art- that may just attempt to do justice to her writings. But we have that not and so we make do with this. A collection of her essays, speeches and interviews, this book offers a peek into the mind of this ex-editor of Random House whoād wake up at 4 am to write her first book. While every essay from Morrisonās pen is worth its weight in gold, āThe Source of Self Regardā, āFaulkner & Womenā, āThe Writer Before The Pageā & āCinderllaās Stepsistersā turned out to be my favourites. Will you allow me to share a couple of my favourite bits? āFinally she speaks and her voice is soft and stern. āI don't know", she says. āI don't know whether the bird you are holding is dead or alive, but what I do now is that it is in your hands. It is in your hands.ā There is authority in her prose- the kind that expects better of itself and of you. She isnāt patronising, nor condescending- instead she shares her thoughts, offers them up for rumination, often being the hand that leads you up a better path of thinking. I found her political writings a bit dense for my taste. I am culpable there. Was I too eager to devour her work or was it that each sentence led me to think hard and thus provided a challenge that I could not rise up to? Iāll revisit that section and know for sure. Morrisonās āThe Nobel Lecture in Literatureā was an ABSOLUTE treat. If the whole collection isnāt possible right now, read that today. Read it today, yes I insist. I leave you with my favourite Morrison quote- āWe die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.ā Till next timeā¦ #tonimorrison #thesourceofselfregard #beloved #nonfictionbooks #essaycollection #blackliterature (at Delhi, India) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc6_TMHLDiv/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
