Passion is never enough; neither is skill. Toni Morrison More Quotes by Toni Morrison More Quotes From Toni Morrison Along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another - physical beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought. Both originated in envy, thrived in insecurity, and ended in disillusion. Toni Morrison envyromantic-loveideas I know there's some poetry that sort of sounds like daisies, but most of the good poetry is also [political], you can feel the heartbeat; it's about some situation that concerns human beings under duress. It's suggesting a solution, or just acknowledging that [the situation] exists. Art does that. Toni Morrison duresspoliticalart Anger ... it's a paralyzing emotion ... you can't get anything done. People sort of think it's an interesting, passionate, and igniting feeling — I don't think it's any of that — it's helpless ... it's absence of control — and I need all of my skills, all of the control, all of my powers ... and anger doesn't provide any of that — I have no use for it whatsoever." [Interview with CBS radio host Don Swaim, September 15, 1987.] Toni Morrison angerskillsthinking Black literature is taught as sociology, as tolerance, not as a serious, rigorous art form. Toni Morrison toleranceafrican-americanart It was a fine cry - loud and long - but it had no bottom and it had no top, just circles and circles of sorrow. Toni Morrison circlessorrowlong No gasp at a miracle that is truly miraculous because the magic lies in the fact that you knew it was there for you all along. Toni Morrison magicmiraclelying If he looked into her face, he would see those haunted, loving eyes. The hauntedness would irritate him - the love would move him to fury. How dare she love him? Hadn't she any sense at all? What was he supposed to do about that? Return it? How? What could his calloused hands produce to make her smile? What of his knowledge of the world and of life could be useful to her? What could his heavy arms and befuddled brain accomplish that would earn him his own respect, that would in turn allow him to accept her love? Toni Morrison loving-lifeeyemoving What do you say? There really are no words for that. There really aren't. Somebody tries to say, 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.' People say that to me. There's no language for it. Sorry doesn't do it. I think you should just hug people and mop their floor or something. Toni Morrison griefsorrythinking Anything I have ever learned of any consequence, I have learned from Black people. I have never been bored by any Black person, ever. Toni Morrison boredblackpeople Sweet, she thought. He must think I can't bear to hear him say it. That after all I have told him and after telling me how many feet I have, "goodbye" would break me to pieces. Ain't that sweet. "So long," she murmured from the far side of the trees. Toni Morrison sweetgoodbyethinking Somebody has to take responsibility for being a leader. Toni Morrison taking-responsibilityleaderresponsibility At some point in life, the world's beauty becomes enough. Toni Morrison naturebeautyworld There is no civilization that did not begin with art, Whether it was drawing a line in the sand, painting a cave or dancing. Toni Morrison drawingcivilizationart You rely on a sentence to say more than the denotation and the connotation; you revel in the smoke that the words send up. Toni Morrison relysentencesconnotation Sweet, crazy conversations full of half sentences, daydreams and misunderstandings more thrilling than understanding could ever be. Toni Morrison sistercrazysweet All paradises, all utopias are designed by who is not there, by the people who are not allowed in. Toni Morrison utopiaparadisepeople Liberation means you don't have to be silenced. Toni Morrison diversityjusticemean The enemy is not men. The enemy is the concept of patriarchy, the concept of patriarchy as the way to run the world or do things. Toni Morrison runningmenenemy I wrote my first novel because I wanted to read it. Toni Morrison novelwritingfirsts Clever, but schoolteacher beat him anyway to show him that definitions belonged to the definers - not the defined. Toni Morrison beloveddefinitionsclever
