“When somebody like Frederick Douglass wrote a book, he was writing to white people—legitimately—because he wanted them to behave, set him free. That was the audience. Not for me. Tolstoy was not writing for little girls from Ohio. He was writing for Russians, right? I’m writing to, about, and for other black people.”
More from Toni Morrison
“What people outside this country, particularly in Europe, think about this country, what…”
“I could read when I was three years old and that’s what I did. At some point, I realized…”
“The forbidden word can be provocative. But after a while it becomes monotonous rather than…”
“If I take your race away, and there you are, all strung out. And all you got is your…”