What We’re Reading: Beloved

Toni Morrison’s Novel Speaks to a New Generation with the Same Unshakeable Power

During Banned Books Week, join us in celebrating Toni Morrison’s seminal novel, Beloved.

This ”brutally powerful, mesmerizing story” (People) is an unflinchingly look into the abyss of slavery, from the acclaimed Nobel Prize winner. The book’s protagonist, Sethe, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. Sethe has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.

As we dive into Morrison’s legacy as an editor with Dana A. Williams over on Speaking in First Draft, we are forever awed by her keen insight into the dynamics of race and power as well as her mission of uplifting Black stories. This week and every week, we are committed to honoring the legacy of truth-tellers like Toni Morrison by ensuring emerging writers have the opportunity to share their words with the world.