PASSAGES: On Morrison

8. Basking in Morrison's Shade with Saeed Jones

In the words of drag performer Dorian Corey, shade requires you to "go to the fine point." To throw shade—to insult your subject, either a text or a person, with maximum

7. Feeling in on JAZZ with Cathy Park Hong

Every city has a pulse, a rhythm, a certain way it's touched by light. Continuing on tour for ON MORRISON, Namwali lands in sunny Oakland, California, where she reads M

6. Dreaming TAR BABY with Angela Flournoy

In the threshold between awake and sleeping, a woman in a yellow dress strolls the aisles of a grocery store. Continuing on tour for ON MORRISON, Namwali Serpell travel

5. Calling on BELOVED with Vinson Cunningham

BELOVED is a holy space made of words. Across the street from Washington Square Park, in New York City's historic Judson Memorial Church, Namwali Serpell, writer Vinson C

4. Seeking PARADISE with Kortney Morrow

Toni Morrison didn't want a monument or statue erected in her honor; she wanted a dedicated reading room in her hometown public library, a space that could allow for chan

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

2. Flying into SONG OF SOLOMON with Hanif Abdurraqib

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 h

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

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 Morris