Search
Close this search box.

Toni Morrison Reads From Next Novel After Receiving PEN/Saul Bellow Award

Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison

*Toni Morrison gave folks a pleasant surprise Thursday night as she accepted a lifetime achievement award in Manhattan.

The author received the prestigious $25,000 PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction from the PEN American Center, then, treated the hundreds of invited guests to an excerpt from her novel in progress.

Sharing a few lines from the opening section, narrated by a mute, Morrison read: “Ma said I was born without a voice box. Box. Couldn’t you buy one? Anyway, being speechless doesn’t mean I can’t hear. I hear everything — everything.”

The ceremony, billed as “Dangerous Work: An Evening With Toni Morrison,” was a 90-minute tribute to the author’s ideas and to the music of her language, noted Page Six. The evening took place at the New School auditorium in Manhattan with performances from mezzo-soprano Alicia Hall Moran and her husband, composer-pianist Jason Moran, and readings by actors Adepero Oduye and Delroy Lindo.

Oduye recalled when she, the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, read “The Bluest Eye” as a girl and thought of the book as the first to give “voice to thoughts and feelings” that were really hers.

“I was, in a way, freed,” said Oduye, whose film credits include “The Big Short” and “Twelve Years a Slave.”

The 85-year-old Morrison, eyes looking out from under a wide-brimmed hat, spoke of how “meaningful” each of her books were, like children to whom she had given birth.

We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!

Sean Combs and Jay-Z (Kevin Mazur-Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
Usher speaks onstage during the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Usher Raymond IV Spark Lab at Joseph B. Whitehead Boys & Girls Club on December 9, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Boys & Girls Club)
Montell Jordan
Todd Bridges
50 Cent and Jay-Z (Getty)
Cillian Murphy stuns in first look at ‘28 Years Later.
Jamie Foxx (Parrish Lewis-Netflix via CNN Newsource)
Sean Diddy Combs
JAY-Z's secret love chi;d
Sugary drink (tongpatong-iStockphoto-Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
Robin Ayers (wearing hat) - via Canvas Rebel
Read More
Quincy Jones
Read More
Kamala Harris at CNN Town Hall - Getty
Read More
Kendrick Lamar - Lil Wayne (Getty)
Read More
Donald Trump with bruises on hands - via X
Read More
Gail Bean and Taye Diggs composite
Read More
T.D. Jakes
Read More
Lizzo (after weight loss) - via Instagram
Read More
Donald Trump - Kamala Harris (Getty composite)
Read More
Dave Blunts / Photo: Dave Blunts IG
Read More

POPULAR

Mike Jackson is a marketing maven (Photo Credit MJ)
SiriusXM's 'Auto Trends' Talks to the Only Black Executive to Manage A $3.5 Billion Car Ad Budget
Sean Combs and Jay-Z (Kevin Mazur-Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
Lawsuit Puts Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Jay-Z’s Decades-long Friendship in the Spotlight
Usher speaks onstage during the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Usher Raymond IV Spark Lab at Joseph B. Whitehead Boys & Girls Club on December 9, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Boys & Girls Club)
Usher Wraps Up 100-Day Social Impact Tour to 'Empower Youth with Launch of New Content Studio in Atlanta | PICs
Montell Jordan
Montell Jordan Advocates Prostate Cancer Awareness After Personal Battle
Todd Bridges
Todd Bridges and Wife Launch New 'DANG!' Podcast | Listen
50 Cent and Jay-Z (Getty)
50 Cent Takes Jab As Jay-Z Denies Child Rape Allegations: 'We Still Doing the Super Bowl?'
Cillian Murphy stuns in first look at ‘28 Years Later.
Sony Unveils Trailer for '28 Years Later,' Sequel to Iconic Horror Series | Watch
Jamie Foxx (Parrish Lewis-Netflix via CNN Newsource)
Jamie Foxx Reveals He Suffered Brain Bleed and Stroke: ‘I Don’t Remember 20 Days’ + He Says He's 'Been cured... No More White Girls!' | WATCH
Sean Diddy Combs
NYC Parents Call for Schools to Ban Diddy’s Name as Students Joke About Mogul in Class
1 2 3 8,443