Toni Morrison: Self - Interviewee

Quotes 

• Self - Interviewee : [Toni Morrison, immediately after a hard cut from a segment in which her long-time editor and friend, Robert Gottlieb, speculated that she dislikes using commas because she hears the pauses when she writes]  The company that published me had published two recordings of my books. And I didn't listen to them. They were great *black* actresses. And, um, then I listened to one and I said, 'That's not right', meaning it wasn't the right sound, it wasn't the rhythm... pauses

  [chuckles] 

  Self - Interviewee : , little things that only *I* would recognize. So since I was so picky, they said, 'Well, Ok'

  [laughs] 

  Self - Interviewee : . So I did them all... because of *that*... because of the sound.

• Self - Interviewee : [opera, film, theater, and festival director Peter Sellars, in a segment titled, 'Shakespeare']  I said to Toni, 'You know, we all love Shakespeare, but there's one really bad Shakespeare play, and that's called "Othello". It's embarrassing; you can tell that the guy didn't have any black friends... . There's not one thing that feels real... fake, fake, fake'. Toni just *called me out* and said, 'That's enough'. She spent the next four hours telling me that it was one of the greatest things ever written in the history of literature.

  Self - Interviewee : [hard cut to interview segment with Toni Morrison]  I said, 'What are you talking about? It's fascinating!' I said, 'Are you trying to tell me that a woman running away during those days, to marry what was a *black man* and be in his *war* is not interesting to you?'

  [laughs] 

• Self - Interviewee : [the documentary's subject, writer and editor Toni Morrison, in a segment titled, 'Shakespeare']  Shakespeare and I have a dialogue. He usually wins

  [drawing out the word 'wins' and then pausing] 

  Self - Interviewee : because he knows, or senses or digs up so much truth about human beings... . amazing. I like the comparison, but I have to step back. Shakespeare is

  [pausing] 

  Self - Interviewee : *the One*.