ARTS . Arts Picks

Toni Morrison

Mon., Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m., $14, Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-686-5322, freelibrary.org.


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Published: Nov 25, 2008

reading/signing

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Borrowing from her critically acclaimed novel Beloved, about a runaway slave's tragic effort to be free, Toni Morrison's latest novella, A Mercy (Knopf), explores similar themes of personal freedom, loss and love between a mother and daughter. The Nobel Prize-winning author (she was the first African-American woman to win the honor for literature, in 1993) will be in Philadelphia to discuss her new book, set in the late 17th century in an America characterized by class division, prejudice and oppression, and as seen through the relationship between a philandering Anglo-Dutch trader and an outspoken slave girl. "My effort was to really find out what must it feel like to be a young girl slave when there was no particular shame attached to being a slave," explained the author in a video interview on Amazon.com. "What would destroy her? What would make her most vulnerable?" Morrison says the narrative moves like an engine, interspersed with deeply introspective reflections from a cast of characters living on a farm in Maryland.

Audiences can expect Morrison to tackle these serious issues with her trademark grace, highlighting deficiencies in American history's treatment of black people and the enlightenment that rewards careful reflection.

Mon., Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m., $14, Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-686-5322, freelibrary.org