"On Morrison": a conversation with Namwali Serpell

About this episode

A discussion with Namwali Serpell about her book 'On Morrison' and the significance of Toni Morrison's work.

To close out our popular series on the great American novelist Toni Morrison, SLOB brings listeners a wonderful discussion with the novelist and Harvard literature Professor Namwali Serpell. Namwali is in the middle of book tour, having just published her highly acclaimed book of essays, "On Morrison," which garnered national and international attention for offering new ways to read and appreciate one of America's most important writers. "On Morrison" is based on a class Namwali has been teaching for several years to her undergraduates at Harvard, in which they read many of Morrison's novels over the course of a single semester. In this conversation we talk about why Toni Morrison's novels became instant classics, why it really matters that her writing is often so difficult, what Namwali's experiences teaching Morrison in the classroom shows us about how we can address the reading crisis around the world, and how (as ever) classic literature especially offers us crucial ways forward. Namwali Serpell, "On Morrison." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Sophie Gee, Jonty Claypole

Guest: Namwali Serpell

Topics covered

• Toni Morrison
• literature
• teaching
• reading crisis
• American novels

Keywords

• Toni Morrison
• Namwali Serpell
• literature
• essays
• Harvard
• reading crisis
• American novelist

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Harvard

Books & works: On Morrison

More episodes of Secret Life of Books

• Bleak House by Charles Dickens - SLoB Book Club returns! (feat. Bret Walker SC) · June 9, 2026 · 1h 17m
• Sucking the Forbidden Fruit: Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market · June 2, 2026 · 1h 16m
• Wings and Things: John Keats' Ode to a Nightingale · May 26, 2026 · 1h 14m
• Paths of Glory: Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard · May 19, 2026 · 1h 17m
• Literary Pilgrimage in New York: From the Mixes Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler · May 15, 2026 · 33 min
• Canterbury Tales (General Prologue) by Geoffrey Chaucer · May 12, 2026 · 1h 22m