You can't own a human being. You can't lose what you don't own. Suppose you did own him. Could you really love somebody who was absolutely nobody without you? You really want somebody like that? Somebody who falls apart when you walk out the door? You don't, do you? And neither does he. You're turning over your whole life to him. Your whole life, girl. And if it means so little to you that you can just give it away, hand it to him, then why should it mean any more to him? He can't value you more than you value yourself.
Toni MorrisonOccasionally, as children, we might figure out how to call somebody a name, and they would figure out how to call us. But it wasn't - it was so light. It was so fluffy. I didn't really have a strong awareness of segregation and the separation of races until I left Lorain, Ohio.
Toni MorrisonGimme hate, Lord,โ he whimpered. โIโll take hate any day. But donโt give me love. I canโt take no more love, Lord. I canโt carry it...Itโs too heavy. Jesus, you know, you know all about it. Ainโt it heavy? Jesus? Ainโt love heavy?
Toni MorrisonWait, wait, wait, wait. Don't try to write through it, to force it. Many do, but that won't work. Just wait, it will come.
Toni MorrisonI think being an editor really helped me take other people's notes on my writing. I'd get a note like 'It's too wet' or 'The first couple chapters are good, but then the rest of the pages were so wet that they were completely illegible' or 'Did you dip this in Sprite? This smells like Sprite. Why would you dip your novel in Sprite?' And instead of pushing back, I'd listen. That's an incredibly important skill for a young writer to have.
Toni Morrison