Toni Morrison’s Short Story “Recitatif” Available in Book Form For the First Time

Toni Morrison’s sole short story, “Recitatif,” will now be available in book form for the first time.

The story, which is among the Nobel laureate’s 11 novels, several essay collections, and multiple children’s books, was originally published in a 1983 anthology now gone out of print.

According to NPR, “the story follows two girls, Twyla and Roberta, who spend several months as roommates in a children’s shelter and run into each other on occasion as adults. One is Black and one is white — but Morrison doesn’t tell the reader which is which.”

In Morrison’s own words, the story is “an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial.”

“Recitatif” has officially hit shelves, both online and physical, just yesterday, commemorating the start of Black History Month in a powerful way.

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