Toni Morrison: Literature & Public Life Symposium

A four-day tribute – Sept. 18-21, 2025 – to one of the most powerful voices in American literature and thought. Film screenings, panels, workshops, and the unveiling of two murals are among the activities planned. All events are free and open to the public.

This year marks 70 years since Toni Morrison earned her Master’s degree from Cornell University (1955) – a milestone that began her extraordinary journey as a writer, editor, and Nobel Laureate. Morrison returned to Cornell on several occasions, most notably as an A.D. White Professor-at-Large (1998–2003), inspiring students and faculty with her intellect, artistry, and insight.

“The symposium gives us a chance to reflect on a topic that was the subject of Toni Morrison’s first A. D. White Professor-at-Large lecture in 1988: literature and public life,” said Anne V. Adams, professor emerita of Africana studies and comparative literature in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S)and chair of the Toni Morrison Collective, in a recent Chronicle article.

In that lecture, Morrison said: “Literature allows us – no, demands of us – the experience of ourselves as multidimensional persons. And doing so is far more necessary than it has ever been … .”

Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025
3:00-3:15pm: Opening (A.D. White House)

3:30-4:30pm: Session 1: Conversation with filmmaker & A.D. White Professor-at-Large Louis Massiah and Mendi Obadike (A.D. White House)

5:00pm: Zalaznik Poetry Reading: Kevin Young (Klarman Hall, KG70)

7:00pm: Session 2 Film: “The Foreigner’s Home” w/commentary by Louis Massiah (Goldwin Smith Hall, G64)
About the film: This powerful documentary explores Morrison’s artistic and intellectual vision through her 2006 exhibition at the Louvre. Featuring exclusive footage of Morrison in dialogue with artists, archival material, music, and photography, the film delves into themes of race, identity, “foreignness,” and art’s redemptive power.

Full program of events

Among the international, distinguished, and emerging scholars and writers, presenters include:

• Tayari Jones (Emory University; A.D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell). Jones’ participation is part of an A.D. White Professors-at-Large mini-visit, Sept. 18-20, 2025.
• Louis Massiah ’77 (Founding Director (1982) & Current Executive Director, Scribe Video Center; A.D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell). Massiah visits Cornell as a Professor-at-Large April 6-10, 2026.
• NoViolet Bulawayo
• Farah Jasmine Griffin
• Ishion Hutchinson
• Claudine Raynaud
• Carolyn Rouse
• Autumn Womack
• Kevin Young
• Various high school artists

Inquiries: tonimorrisoncoll@cornell.edu

Co-sponsored/supported by Africana Studies and Research Center; Department of Literatures in English; Creative Writing Program; A. D. White Professors-at-Large Program; Society for the Humanities; American Studies Program; Cornell University Library; College of Arts and Sciences; College of Architecture, Art, and Planning; Central NY Humanities Corridor.