Toni Morrison's Spiritual Vision: Nadra Nittle

When Toni Morrison died in August 2019, she was widely remembered for her contributions to literature as an African American woman, an identity she wore proudly. Morrison was clear that she wrote from a Black, female perspective and for others who shared her identity. But just as much as she was an African American writer, Toni Morrison was a woman of faith.

Toni Morrison's Spiritual Vision unpacks this oft-ignored, but essential, element of Toni Morrison's work--her religion--and in so doing, gives readers a deeper, richer understanding of her life and her writing. In its pages, Nadra Nittle remembers and understands Morrison for all of who she was: a writer, a Black woman, and a person of complex faith. As Nittle's wide-ranging, deep exploration of Morrison's oeuvre reveals, to fully understand the writing of Toni Morrison one must also understand the role of religion and spirituality in her life and literature.

Nadra Nittle is a Los Angeles-based journalist who has been a staff writer for Vox Media, Digital First Media, and the Gannett/USA Today network. Her writing has also appeared in The Atlantic, The Guardian, The New York Times, Salon, and religious publications such as Outreach and America magazines. She is the author of Recognizing Microaggressions (2019).

Photo of Toni Morrison by Timothy Greenfield Sanders