New Dimensions of Spirituality: A Bi-Racial and Bi-Cultural Reading of the Novels of Toni Morrison

by Karla F.C. Holloway, Stephanie Demetrakopoulos

This series of essays on Toni Morrison's first four novels-- The Bluest Eye , Song of Solomon , Sula , and Tar Baby is the delightful, intelligent collaboration of a white of Greek descent (Demetrakopoulos) and a black American (Holloway). In addition to the influence of their respective backgrounds, Demetrakopoulos is particularly interested in women's studies and Jungian psychology, and Holloway in black studies and linguistics; these fields inform their individual contributions. . . . The clear writing is free of academic jargon and makes exceptionally good sense. Very highly recommended to academic libraries, especially for women's studies and black literature collections. Choice

This first full-length study of the novels of Toni Morrison is a breakthrough in literary criticism, not only from the standpoint of feminist critique but as a biracial, bicultural dialogue on literary, social, and spiritual themes. Holloway, a specialist in Black studies and psycholinguistics, and Demetrakopoulos, whose academic interests include women's studies and Jungian psychology, weave their multidisciplinary interests and divergent experience into an integrated study of Toni Morrison's novels. The authors' introductory essays put Morrison's work in critical perspective and approach her literary vision in terms of its cultural, racial, and historical linkages and meanings. The novels are then considered chronologically by both authors, who each comment freely on the interpretations and viewpoints of the other.

184 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 1987

About the author

Karla FC Holloway is James B. Duke Professor of English at Duke University, where she also holds appointments in the Law School, Womens Studies, and African & African American Studies, and is an affiliated faculty with the Institute on Care at the End of Life and the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine. She serves on the Greenwall Foundations Advisory Board in Bioethics, was recently elected to the Hastings Center Fellows Association, and is the author of many books, including BookMarks: Reading in Black and White; Passed On: African American Mourning Stories: A Memorial, also published by Duke University Press; and Codes of Conduct: Race, Ethics, and the Color of Our Character."

Reviews

[Amanda Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

An impulsive ILL request that did not disappoint!

“In its whole form, it is testimony to the depths of soul and mind and artistry that Toni Morrison’s four novels have touched. We finally dedicate this book to the women, ancestral and contemporary, that surrounded her hands and heart as she wrote them out for us to know.”