In celebration of Black History Month, we’ll be highlighting a diverse range of books – poetry, novels, memoirs and more – all written by Black American authors. Each of these works moved, engaged, delighted, enraged, and excited Island Free Library readers’ this past year, and we’ll be featuring one title every day through the month of February.
Today’s work is Toni Morrison’s Jazz, a lyrical, passionate novel set in 1920s Harlem. Moving back and forth in time, the book opens with a murder and the violence that follows, slowly introducing us to Joe, Violet and Dorcas and their roots in the post-Civil War American South. With hypnotic language and a strong sense of place, Morrison crafts full-bodied characters and explores the nuances of Harlem Renaissance NYC. Jazz is the IFL Zoom Book Group title for March/April – all are welcome to join, and copies of Jazz are available at the library!
Toni Morrison was a renowned writer, poet and editor who authored eleven novels. Morrison’s work has been awarded most of the major literary prizes in the US, including the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction in 1988. Morrison received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993, and she worked as a editor and teacher until her death in 2019.
Thanks for reading along as we shared the smallest sample of the amazing work that has been and is being written by Black American authors – we hope you’ll keep reading great art by Black authors all year long!