In 1981, Toni Morrison (born Chloe Anthony Wofford) was hailed by News Week Magazine as the best black writer of the day.  Her first four novels, The Bluest Eye ,Sula (Oprah's Book Club), Song of Solomon and Tar Baby, reflected her experience growing up as a black child in her hometown.  They also included stories and folktales told to her by her parents and grandparents.

These novels brought Morrison much recognition, but it was her fifth novel Beloved, that earned her fame. For this book, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for Letters in 1988, the highest prize for an American Writer. This book was made into a Movie for Television.

Beloved is the story of a slave named Margaret Garner who killed her own daughter rather than see her grow up as a slave.

Morrison has contributed her brilliant writing to literature and has opened the black experience to all cultures.  Her ideas, though disturbing to some, open doors to new understanding.

In 1993, Morrison won the Nobel Prize for Literature, awarded to the person in whose works in literature had made the greatest contribution.  She was the first black American writer to win.  The Nobel Academy said that Morison's work "gives life to an essential aspect of American reality"        

External Links;

• VG: Artist Biography - Toni Morrison
• Women's History