On Morrison: A Conversation About Toni Morrison with Author Namwali Serpell

“In this lavish yet clear-eyed study, Serpell shows how Morrison breathed new life into the novel. This is literary criticism at its finest.”—Time, “The 36 Most Anticipated Books of 2026”

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Toni Morrison's work undeniably reshaped American literature, and her influence extended well beyond her novels like Beloved or The Bluest Eye. Morrison confronted slavery, identity, trauma - as well as beauty - as she centered Black experiences. Morrison changed not only what stories were told, but how they were told.

Harvard professor and award-winning author Namwali Serpell's latest book On Morrison, argues that Morrison's literary skill often gets overshadowed by her public image as a Black female writer. On Morrison takes readers through her canon of literature, and focuses on the artistry and technique, demonstrating “how to read Morrison with the seriousness that she deserves.”

Namwali Serpell was born in Lusaka and lives in New York. She is the author of multiple award-winning books, and her debut novel, The Old Drift, won an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science Fiction, and the Los Angeles Times’s Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction.

For an entire year, starting on Toni Morrison’s birthday, the influential Nobel Prize-winning Ohioan will be the focus of literary and historic events in the Buckeye State. Join us - in partnership with Literary Cleveland - as Kourtney Morrow with the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards sits down in conversation with On Morrison author Namwali Serpell.

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You can learn more about the year-long calendar of events celebrating Toni Morrison here.

After the forum, a book signing with the author will be available. ThirdSpace Reading Room will be on site for book sales.

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Online ticket sales for this forum will conclude on Thursday, February 19th. For more information regarding ticketing/registration, contact Stacy Rogers at (216) 621-0082.

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The livestream will be available beginning at 12:00pm. Have questions for the Q&A? Text them to 330.541.5794.

Production and distribution of City Club forums in partnership with Ideastream Public Media is generously provided by PNC and the United Black Fund.