On Morrison Audiobook By Namwali Serpell cover art

On Morrison

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On Morrison

By: Namwali Serpell
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An illuminating, electrifying exploration of the work of Toni Morrison by an award-winning novelist and Harvard professor

"Magnificent . . . [a] breathtaking, provocative, and refreshing engagement with Morrison as a thinker as well as an artist. Filled with unique analyses, deep dives, and an intellectual playfulness that Morrison herself so valued, this book will stand as one of the most important 21st century works on the great American writer."—Imani Perry, author of South to America, Winner of the National Book Award

"Immense gratitude for this book . . . [Serpell] rises to the challenge of extending and expanding a legacy by giving the person at the heart of that legacy time, rigor, and care."—Hanif Abdurraqib, author of There’s Always This Year

Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate and one of our most beloved writers, has inspired generations of readers. But her artistic genius is often overshadowed by her monumental public persona, perhaps because, as Namwali Serpell puts it, “she is our only truly canonical black, female writer—and her work is highly complex.” In On Morrison, Serpell brings her unique experience as both an award-winning writer and professor who teaches a course on Morrison to illuminate her masterful experiments with literary form.

This is Morrison as you’ve never encountered her before, a journey through her oeuvre—her fiction and criticism, as well as her lesser-known dramatic works and poetry—with contextual guidance, archival discoveries, and original close readings. At once accessible and uncompromisingly rigorous, On Morrison is a primer not only on how to read one of the most significant American authors of all time, but also on how to read great works of literature in general. This dialogue between two black women artist-readers is stylish, edifying, and thrilling in its scope and intelligence.

©2026 Namwali Serpell (P)2026 Random House Audio
African American Literary History & Criticism Words, Language & Grammar

Critic reviews

“Immense gratitude for this book, and for Namwali Serpell’s close looking, which has led to these stunning reconsiderations of Morrison, which are incisive, tender, and also honest and unsparing . . . This is a book that rises to the challenge of extending and expanding a legacy by giving the person at the heart of that legacy time, rigor, and care.”—Hanif Abdurraqib, New York Times bestselling author of There’s Always This Year

“In On Morrison, Serpell applies her prodigious intellect, vast literary archive, and her own calling as a novelist to magnificent effect in this breathtaking, provocative, and refreshing engagement with Morrison as a thinker as well as an artist. Filled with unique analyses, deep dives, and an intellectual playfulness that Morrison herself so valued, this book will stand as one of the most important twenty-first-century works on the great American writer.”—Imani Perry, author of South to America, winner of the National Book Award

On Morrison is not simply a literary miracle; it is a cultural feat, a damn near perfect concoction made maybe once in a generation. It is what happens when a mind as curious as it is expansive explores the work of the greatest maker of novels in American history. Namwali Serpell’s staggering brilliance sifts and sits in this book of criticism, this book of artful expansion. There is nothing like it, nothing like Serpell’s imaginative know-how, and we should be thankful to share the earth with this art object.”—Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy

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