PASSAGES: On Morrison

PASSAGES: On Morrison

PASSAGES takes reading on the road. Come along with Namwali Serpell, novelist, critic, and Harvard professor, as she joins fellow writers and skilled readers in conversation to pore over excerpts of Toni Morrison's prose. Recorded on book tour for ON MORRISON—Serpell's electrifying, critical exploration of the author's oeuvre—each episode welcomes listeners into rooms full of readers and discussions of how Morrison made her words sing. This show is the record of a traveling salon, a celebration of Morrison's extraordinary work, and a love letter to reading closely in community. You can purchase ON MORRISON wherever books are sold or through this link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/752344/on-morrison-by-namwali-serpell/ PASSAGES: On Morrison is a production of the Random House Publishing Group. Cover art includes "Toni Morrison as Song of Solomon" by John Sokol (1981).

Episodes

May 21, 2026 31 mins

For the launch of Ohio's year-long, state-wide celebration of Toni Morrison, Namwali Serpell flies to Columbus to talk with poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib. With the help of the audience, they read the ending of Morrison's SONG OF SOLOMON and then open up the scene's quiet violence and ambiguous action. The passage leads them to discuss the challenges of adapting Morrison's novels for film, the power of evoking the ...

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Namwali Serpell kicks off the tour for her new book ON MORRISON at the First Parish Church in Cambridge, MA, in conversation with poet Tracy K. Smith. Together, they read the opening of THE BLUEST EYE, Toni Morrison's debut novel, and discuss all that the passage emits and erases. They also explore how the cultural treatment of Morrison as a literary icon or monument has obscured a true ...

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May 4, 2026 2 mins

PASSAGES: On Morrison is a podcast that takes reading on the road. At each stop on our tour, Namwali Serpell and fellow writers open up a different passage of Toni Morrison's prose, in front of a live audience. 

You can purchase the book ON MORRISON by Namwali Serpell through https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/752344/on-morrison-by-namwali-serpell/

This podcast is a production of the Random House Publishing Group. 

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

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