“Language alone protects us from the scariness of things with no names. Language alone is meditation.”

— Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize Lecture (1993)

About Toni Morrison

1931 – 2019

Nobel Prize-winning American novelist whose work explored Black American experience with unmatched depth and lyricism. Author of Beloved, Song of Solomon, and other towering works.

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“If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.”

— Toni Morrison

“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”

— Toni Morrison

“Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.”

— Toni Morrison

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

— Epictetus

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

— Aristotle

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

— Rumi

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

— Lao Tzu

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

— Confucius

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”

— Oscar Wilde

“Language alone protects us from the scariness of things with no names. Language alone is meditation.”

About Toni Morrison

More from Toni Morrison

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