Food for Thought Summer Read: On Morrison (book order due May 31)
- Lit Youngstown
- Apr 20
- 1 min read
The '26-'27 Food for Thought book discussion series kicks off with our summer read, On Morrison, by Namwali Serpell. We will meet Thursday, September 17 at 5:30pm at Noble Creature, 126 E. Rayen.
This book is available from bookshop.org, and to purchase a hardcopy for a special price from POP! Art Books Culture, please visit the quick sign-up here.
Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate and one of our most beloved writers, has inspired generations of readers. But her artistic genius is often overshadowed by her monumental public persona, perhaps because, as Namwali Serpell puts it, “she is our only truly canonical black female writer—and her work is highly complex.” In On Morrison, Serpell brings her unique experience as both an award-winning writer and a professor who teaches a course on Morrison to illuminate her masterful experiments with literary form.
This is Morrison as you’ve never encountered her before, a journey through her oeuvre—her fiction and criticism, as well as her lesser-known dramatic works and poetry—with contextual guidance and original close readings. At once accessible and uncompromisingly rigorous, On Morrison is a primer not only on how to read one of the most significant American authors of all time but also on how to read great works of literature in general. This dialogue on the page between two black women artist-readers is stylish, edifying, and thrilling in its scope and intelligence.
This discussion is part of a year long celebration of Ohio native daughter and Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison. To learn more about the statewide events, visit
