The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison

“Quiet as it’s kept, there were no marigolds in the summer of 1941.” Now that is an alluring first sentence – conspirital, with just the right hint of mystery. And this is a story of secrets, of innermost desires that people don’t even admit to themselves. The Bluest Eye is Morrison’s first novel, published in [...]

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Whylah Falls, by George Elliott Clarke

My first exposure to George Elliott Clarke was when I saw him read from George & Rue at Acadia during my fourth year. But of course “read” is far too mundane a term – he performed. He breathed life into the words on the page – they jived, grooved, and swam through the auditorium. As [...]

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Sula, by Toni Morrison

What struck me most about Sula is the idea that loneliness is our most fundamental state, and that friendship and love can only offer distraction for a while. Worse, these brief periods of joy only make loneliness that much more unbearable when it comes rushing back in. As we can only understand that loneliness [...]

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