PASSAGES: On Morrison

Namwali Serpell, Random House
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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).

  1. 3. Playing in SULA with Dionne Custer Edwards

    3 days ago

    3. Playing in SULA with Dionne Custer Edwards

    Continuing our tour of Ohio, Namwali joins writer and educator Dionne Custer Edwards to discuss ON MORRISON at the Bexley Public Library. They read and open up a passage of Morrison's SULA, a brimming scene of friendship and play between the two central characters, Sula and Nel. Dionne and Namwali explore the innocence of the girls' mirrored play with twigs and grass, but also the undertones of maturation, as Nel and Sula hover on the threshold between the girls they have been and the women they are actively becoming.  Here is the passage Dionne reads from Toni Morrison's SULA: "Sula lifted her head and joined Nel in the grass play. In concert, without ever meeting each other's eyes, they stroked the blades up and down, up and down. Nel found a thick twig and, with her thumbnail, pulled away its bark until it was stripped to a smooth, creamy innocence. Sula looked about and found one too. When both twigs were undressed Nel moved easily to the next stage and began tearing up rooted grass to make a bare spot of earth. When a generous clearing was made, Sula traced intricate patterns in it with her twig. At first Nel was content to do the same. But soon she grew impatient and poked her twig rhythmically and intensely into the earth, making a small neat hole that grew deeper and wider with the least manipulation of her twig. Sula copied her, and soon each had a hole the size of a cup. Nel began a more strenuous digging and, rising to her knee, was careful to scoop out the dirt as she made her hole deeper. Together they worked until the two holes were one and the same. When the depression was the size of a small dishpan, Nel's twig broke. With a gesture of disgust she threw the pieces into the hole they had made. Sula threw hers in too. Nel saw a bottle cap and tossed it in as well. Each then looked around for more debris to throw into the hole: paper, bits of glass, butts of cigarettes, until all of the small defiling things they could find were collected there. Carefully they replaced the soil and covered the entire grave with uprooted grass. Neither one had spoken a word." You can find an abridged transcript and additional show notes here at Literary Hub. Join us for a live taping of PASSAGES: On Morrison on June 4th at Liz's Book Bar in Brooklyn, NY.  You can buy Namwali Serpell's ON MORRISON at this link and anywhere books are sold. PASSAGES: On Morrison is a Random House production, hosted by Namwali Serpell. The podcast was created and produced by Sara McCrea. Sound design and technical direction by John DeLore. Campaign strategy and development, media partnerships by Carrie Neill. Publicity and tour coordination by Peter Dyer.

    28 min
  2. 1. Opening THE BLUEST EYE with Tracy K. Smith

    21 May

    1. Opening THE BLUEST EYE with Tracy K. Smith

    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 appreciation of her literary form, an appreciation that comes from turning to the page.  Here is the passage Tracy reads from Morrison's THE BLUEST EYE: "Quiet as it's kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941. We thought, at the time, that it was because Pecola was having her father's baby that the marigolds did not grow. A little examination and much less melancholy would have proved to us that our seeds were not the only ones that did not sprout; nobody's did. Not even the gardens fronting the lake showed marigolds that year. But so deeply concerned were we with the health and safe delivery of Pecola's baby we could think of nothing but our own magic: if we planted the seeds, and said the right words over them, they would blossom, and everything would be all right. It was a long time before my sister and I admitted to ourselves that no green was going to spring from our seeds. Once we knew, our guilt was relieved only by fights and mutual accusations about who was to blame. For years I thought my sister was right: it was my fault. I had planted them too far down in the earth. It never occurred to either of us that the earth itself might have been unyielding. We had dropped our seeds in our own little plot of black dirt just as Pecola's father had dropped his seeds in his own plot of black dirt. Our innocence and faith were no more productive than his lust or despair. What is clear now is that of all of that hope, fear, lust, love, and grief, nothing remains but Pecola and the unyielding earth. Cholly Breedlove is dead; our innocence too. The seeds shriveled and died; her baby too. There is really nothing more to say—except why. But since why is difficult to handle, one must take refuge in how." You can find the episode transcript and additional show notes here at Literary Hub. Join us for a live taping of PASSAGES: On Morrison on June 4th at Liz's Book Bar in Brooklyn, NY.  You can buy Namwali Serpell's ON MORRISON at this link and anywhere books are sold.  PASSAGES: On Morrison is a Random House production, hosted by Namwali Serpell. The podcast was created and produced by Sara McCrea. Sound design and technical direction by John DeLore. Campaign strategy and development, media partnerships by Carrie Neill. Publicity and tour coordination by Peter Dyer.

    29 min
  3. Trailer | PASSAGES: On Morrison

    4 May

    Trailer | PASSAGES: On Morrison

    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.

    3 min
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Trailer

About

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).

Information

  • Creator
    Namwali Serpell, Random House
  • Years Active
    2k
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Random House Publishing Group, 2026
  • Show Website
    PASSAGES: On Morrison

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