Dear Readers,
I thought you might like to know about the film “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I am” and related forthcoming events. If you don’t know who Toni Morrison is, you can find out more via the Wiki here and The Guardian’s Obituary here.
If you can’t afford to go to the events listed below and wish to learn a bit more about one of the most acclaimed American writers, who sadly passed away last year, I recommend you to watch the New York Public Library video below. It is a discussion between her, Toni Morrison and Angela Davis, the activist and sociologist.
The talk itself is interesting because these two icons manage to discuss difficult and violent issues in a cosy way. It explores racism, slavery, imprisonment, freedom, literacy, the disappearance of public libraries and of course capitalism. The friendship and complicity between these two good friends makes the video easy and enjoyable to watch. It is a warm and compelling invitation to reflect on knowledge acquisition and “the making of community” to protest against injustices.
Enjoy!
Thushari
Thushari Perera
ANGELA DAVIS AND TONI MORRISON LITERACY, LIBRARIES AND LIBERATION / NYPL
Watch on YouTube here (1h45)
“TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM” FILM SCREENINGS & RELATED EVENTS (VARIOUS VENUES)
TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM FILM
Dir: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
United States / 2019 / 120mins
“From a young age Toni Morrison learned that words have power. Through her many celebrated novels she channelled the power of words to transform understanding of the African American experience, winning both Nobel and Pulitzer prizes and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In this lovingly crafted film, Director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, who was Morrison’s friend and photographer for four decades, has Morrison narrate her own story, from her earliest days growing up in small town Ohio. “I have spent my entire writing life trying to make sure that the white gaze was not the dominant one in any of my books,” she tells us, staring straight into the camera. Completed a few months before Morrison’s death in 2019, in Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, we hear not only from Morrison herself but from a range of friends, including Oprah Winfrey, Angela Davis and Fran Lebowitz. A single mother of two, Morrison spent many years juggling her writing life while working full time as a highly respected editor. As her novels began to earn global attention, she moved full time into writing, becoming one of the most celebrated American writers of her generation.”
Watch the trailer here
24 February 2020
RECLAIM THE FRAME PRESENTS: TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM (CULTUREPLEX, MANCHESTER)
Find out more here
4 March 2020
WE ARE PARABLE PRESENTS PREVIEW SCREENING: TONI MORRISON – THE PIECES I AM (RICH MIX, LONDON)
Find out more here
6-8 March 2020
TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM + READINGS & TRIBUTES (BERTHA DOC HOUSE, LONDON)
Presented by Bird’s Eye View – Reclaim The Frame
Find out more here
12 – 14 March 2020
FIVE VOLUMES FOR TONI MORRISON (ICA, LONDON)
“Five Volumes for Toni Morrison is a three-day convening to celebrate the life and work of the novelist, essayist and Nobel laureate in literature. Inspired by Five Poems (2002), a collection of poems by Morrison with illustrations by Kara Walker, Five Volumes seeks to create a space for existing and new Morrison readers to engage closely with her work. The convening revisits Morrison’s 1986 Guardian talk at the ICA alongside screenings, talks, performances and study groups.”
Find out more here
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