The Source of Self-Regard
Author: Toni Morrison
Publisher: Knopf
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Cover Description
Arguably the most celebrated and revered writer of our time now gives us a new nonfiction collection — a rich gathering of her essays, speeches, and meditations on society, culture, and art, spanning four decades.
The Source of Self-Regard is brimming with all the elegance of mind and style, the literary prowess and moral compass that are Toni Morrison's inimitable hallmark. It is divided into three parts: the first is introduced by a powerful prayer for the dead of 9/11; the second by a searching meditation on Martin Luther King Jr., and the last by a heart-wrenching eulogy for James Baldwin. In the writings and speeches included here, Morrison takes on contested social issues: the foreigner, female empowerment, the press, money, “black matter(s),” and human rights. She looks at enduring matters of culture: the role of the artist in society, the literary imagination, the Afro-American presence in American literature, and in her Nobel lecture, the power of language itself. And here too is piercing commentary on her own work (including The Bluest Eye, Sula, Tar Baby, Jazz, Beloved, and Paradise) and that of others, among them, painter and collagist Romare Bearden, author Toni Cade Bambara, and theater director Peter Sellars. In all, The Source of Self-Regard is a luminous and essential addition to Toni Morrison's oeuvre.
TL;DR Review
The Source of Self-Regard is an incredible collection, but very academic. While inspiring and impressive, it won’t be for everyone.
For you if: You are a fiction writer or interested in the technicalities of how Toni Morrison sought to approach race and feminism in her writing.
Full Review
“How to be both free and situated; how to convert a racist house into a race-specific yet non-racist home? How to enunciate race while depriving it of its lethal cling? They are questions of concept, of language, of trajectory, of habitation, of occupation, and, although my engagement with them has been fierce, fitful, and constantly (I think) evolving, they remain in my thoughts as aesthetically and politically unresolved.”
The Source of Self-Regard sat (beautifully) on my shelf for several months, waiting patiently, before I finally picked it up. I didn’t know much about it, other than the fact that Toni Morrison had written it and that it was a collection of short pieces of non-fiction. She being arguably the greatest American writer in recent history, of course I wanted to read her meditations on things like race and feminism.
I quickly realized that these essays and speeches, while not that many words long, are not quick reads. They’re incredible, but they’re dense and academic, and they won’t be for everyone. Just because you love her fiction doesn’t mean you should read this book. I think this book’s best readers will be fiction writers looking to understand how she handled racism and feminism with such intentional care, because that’s what she explains — again, very academically.
I’m not book’s best reader, as I felt like much of it went over my head. I ended up borrowing the audiobook from my library and listening to most of it. But even though I don’t think I got as much out of it as it has to offer, I can tell that it’s a rich, meaningful gift to the world; someday I would like to re-read it, very slowly, and try to ingest more.
Trigger Warnings
None
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