The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations (Vintage International)

There’s nothing to dislike about this book. It thought provoking in all respects.

The prospective reader might at first be dissuaded from reading The Source of Self-Regard when she notices that none of the essays are sourced at their start. Even more so, when one looks at the index containing the year and medium where they were originally published it looks like a mere hodgepodge. Has Knopf simply collected scattered ephemera for the sake of profiting off the name of Tony Morrison?Thankfully, nothing could be farther from the truth. I believe the lack of explicit sourcing is intentional. It emphasizes that Morrison is not primarily addressing, say, a Faulkner convention in 1986 but speaking directly to the contemporary reader.And the book has a lot to say to the questions of today. It is divided into three parts. The first of these deals with the importance of the humanities, the second on the black experience and the third on the art of writing.What becomes clear is that the essays have been chosen in any but a haphazard manner. For example, there is an extended discussion of a Gertrude Stein novel that sandwiches a section about a supposedly dissolute black woman between two sympathetic portraits of white women. Is it pure coincidence that Morrison has placed her meditations on being black in America squarely in the middle of these essays? Could there be any stronger rebuke of literary stereotypes?Beyond the literary aplomb, the message Morrison has to tell is consistent, relevant and powerful. She believes that the English language, as spoken in the twenty-first century, is inherently racist in its depiction of black America. Her project is to help reclaim the meaning of being black through the power of creatively imagining the unexplored depths of the African-American history.Some might demure about whether implicit racism truly permeates American culture inmediums like the press, politics and literature. Morrison is, however, arguably the most articulate spokeswoman for this perspective. Her project of reclaiming the narrative by imaginatively and creatively depicting the reality around slavery, discrimination and black stereotypes is without doubt a noble and important one.I only wish I could convey the depth and breadth of these essays but there’s really no substitute for reading them for oneself. If one is interested in understanding the black experience, and Morrison argues that one cannot understand what it is to be white or even American without it, then I highly recommend these collected essays.Not merely a scattering of different thoughts but a cohesive commentary on the vocation of writing, the power of language to shape inchoate reality and what it has meant and now means to be black in America. Intellectually profound as well as delightful in the artistry which stitches these essays together. Easily a five star rating.

I got this as a gift for my beloved therapist. She said she loved it. But did she, or is she lying to me like my mother did, in order to not hurt my feelings? I'm working on my inability at excepting people's gratitude.

This work provides us with powerful insights and nuggets of wisdom that are priceless!! May we give attention to and heed these well-timed words left to us!! Focus! Think! And apply the lessons found within this compilation of essays!! I highly recommend this book and the Audible companion to listen to the book as you study the written words!

Learning, teaching, meditation and repeating the process all over again 🙏

An uneven read for me so a little disappointing. Some of the essays were brilliant and what I had looked forward to. Others were scholarly and obtuse and others were verbatim repetitive, taking whole sections from one essay or speech and inserting them into another. I kept paging back - "Didn't I just read this?" And, yes I had, word for word.

First of all, let me begin by saying that I believe Toni Morrison is for me one of the top five writers in America since America was founded. I have found so much solace and inspiration in the works of hers that I have read, and she has had a profound influence on me as a writer. The Source of Self-Regard begins with a call for otherwise dispossessed writers to write their truth no matter what the consequences. She then takes us through the course of the American canon and reveals how the black presence pervades American literature whether mainly for guilt or a springboard for white supremacy. She then discusses how she came to identify herself as a black writer as opposed to just plain writer, then she takes us on a journey through several of her works and their development and her responses to her editors' suggestions. If you are a writer, most specifically if you are a black writer or even just a conscious reader, I cannot recommend this book enough.

i’ve sat on this review for weeks now. there’s no simpleness to this text and thus there should be no simple ways to express how bitingly magnificent it is.toni morrison remains the most important interlocutor, lecturer and observer of our time altogether.this last offering was as generous as you’d imagine any 50yr career of such adroitness could be.get it. no seriously, get it!

Excellent read, Toni is Toni

Este libro te ayuda a abrir tu mente y aprender desde un punto de vista totalmente distinto al tuyo. Poderoso.

Toni Morrison is one of my favourite writers, mentors and confidants as when you are reading her works you are engaged in a conversation with her as you submerge yourself into the text.

Exceptional

A very strong book. I was bowled over by this author. You can actually know what great minds think like. A must have & a must read.