Title: Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer's Legendary Editorship by Dana A. Williams
Book Beginnings/First Line Friday quote:
Friday56 quote (actually from page 6, last page of preview):
Summary:
A multifaceted genius, Toni Morrison transcended her role as an author, helping to shape an important period in American publishing and literature as an editor at one of the nation’s most prestigious publishing houses. While Toni Morrison's literary achievements are widely celebrated, her editorial work is little known. Drawing on extensive research and firsthand accounts, this comprehensive study discusses Morrison's remarkable journey from her early days at Random House to her emergence as one of its most important editors. During her tenure in editorial, Morrison refashioned the literary landscape, working with important authors, including Toni Cade Bambara, Leon Forrest, and Lucille Clifton, and empowering cultural icons such as Angela Davis and Muhammad Ali to tell their stories on their own terms. (Publisher)
Review: My husband started listening with me to the audiobook, Toni at Random, but he abandoned the book as soon as we arrived at our destination telling me to go on listening without him. At that point we were about at midpoint in the book and it isn't like him to stop listening once he is invested in a book. But this time he claimed the book just was too detailed and boring to keep his interest though he does greatly admire Toni Morrison.
Just looking at the first paragraph (above) you get the idea. That is the whole paragraph and Toni Morrison isn't even mentioned in it. I agree, this paragraph is boring. At times, it is almost as if this book is written for other editors or even publishers. Like the book is saying "this is how you do it!", just be like Toni Morrison. Since I listened to the book and never touched a printed version of it, I had to snag my Friday56 quote off of the preview pages provided by the publisher. Unfortunately this time only 6 pages of text were offered for preview. Actually, however, the quote I found on that last page was a very good one to follow up on first page because she is speaking at the conference and publishers, book sellers, and Black writers are hanging on her every word. She essentially is saying "we're all we go," and that the impetus for change in the publishing industry had to come from Black people. This is exactly what she set about to do as an editor for random House Publishing -- she found and nurtured Black writers toward successful writing careers. And she was tremendously successful at it.
I had no idea until I read Toni at Random how much work editors do for writers and the agencies they work for. Ms. Morrison not only gave writing suggestions but she did a tremendous amount of handholding and urging. One time she invited an author to come to New York and to stay in her house so they could work closely on the final manuscript. The process took two weeks with Toni editing pages downstairs and the writer running upstairs to make the needed changes and corrections. When Random House contracted with Muhammed Ali to write a memoir it was right after he got out of prison for not serving in the Army during the Vietnam War. He had been suspended from the boxing world and for all he knew, he was finished in his chosen sport. But before the book could be written, he was back in boxing and the deadlines for the book kept getting pushed off. Toni had to work with the ghost writer for far longer than anyone thought, sometimes even chasing him around the country, just to get the book finished. When it was finally published the book, The Greatest: My Own Story, was tremendously popular, selling very well.
Don gave up on the audiobook before the chapters on Ms. Morrison's work with Muhammed Ali and Angela Davis. Both of those individuals were often in the news during my childhood and I found myself interested in learning more about both of them than I knew before, not just about the books they wrote but about their lives.
All together I'd say that Toni at Random is probably not a book for the average reader unless that person is tremendously interested in the publishing industry or a huge fan of Toni Morrison. As the summary says, this book is about Ms. Morrison's editorship career, not her writing career, so readers don't find out anything about where she got her ideas for her own books. But it rounds out her story and it gave me one more reason to admire this famed author.
My rating: 4 stars.
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