Toni Morrison papers to reside in Firestone Library

The papers of Nobel laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, who is also a former creative writing professor at the University, will now be housed permanently in Firestone Library.

The papers, which document decades of her work, will be permanently stored in Firestone in climate-controlled units as part of the Rare Books and Special Collections Department.An exhibit of a few of Morrison’s papers will be available for public viewing in the Main Gallery of Firestone from Oct. 24 to Nov. 24.

Morrison did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Curator of Manuscripts in the Department of Rare Books and Special CollectionsDon Skemer explained that Morrison’s papers, which vary from lyrics to photographs, provide a glimpse into her thoughts throughout her life.

Papers of greatest importance, he noted, include manuscripts and drafts of her 10 novels, including “Beloved” and “Song of Solomon.”

Skemer added that Morrison’s papers contain about 180 linear feet of research materials.

“Toni Morrison’s papers have never been available for research,” he said, “so I am confident that they will be an invaluable resource for literary researchers, including faculty and students from Princeton, as well as visitors from other universities and colleges internationally.”

Skemer also said that a processing archivist needs to physically and digitally organize Morrison’s papers for public access first by physically sorting them by topic and then by scanning them. Completion of this organization is tentatively set for the end of 2015 or the beginning of 2016.

University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 announced the addition of Morrison’s papers to the University’s library during the Coming Back: Reconnecting Princeton's Black Alumni conference. The conference, held from Oct. 16–18, was an event aimed at cultivating discussion among black alumni.

“Toni Morrison’s place among the giants of American literature is firmly entrenched, and I am overjoyed that we are adding her papers to the Princeton University Library’s collections,” Eisgruber said in his welcoming speech.

Eisgruber also noted that the papers would allow scholars and students to have insights into Morrison’s life and literary works.

Get the best of ‘the Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

“We at Princeton are fortunate that Professor Morrison brought her brilliant talents as a writer and teacher to our campus 25 years ago, and we are deeply honored to house her papers and to help preserve her inspiring legacy,” he said.

Morrison was also present at the conference, praising the support she received for Princeton’s Atelier program that she helped develop. The Atelier is a seminar program in the creative arts with an emphasis on an interdisciplinary approach to the arts.

She was designated as the Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities at Princeton in 1989 and has held the distinction of professor emerita since her retirement in 2006.

She was awarded an honorary doctoral degree at the2013 Commencement ceremonies.

She received a National Book Critics Circle Award for “Song of Solomon” in 1977 and a Pulitzer Prize for “Beloved” in 1988.

Director of the Program in Creative Writing Susan WheelerpraisedMorrison’s impact on literature and history, saying that each novel by Morrison enlarges and transforms a reader’s world.

“Through her writing, we — and others throughout the world who read her work in English or in translation — have a deeper, more profound sense of what experience in this nation has been and is today,” she said.

The collection of Morrison’s papers will be continuously added to as new pieces are discovered or written. Documents related to Morrison’s forthcoming novel, to be released in the spring of 2015, will be added to the collection.