PrincetonUniversity
Toni Morrison to receive National Humanities Medal
Novelist and Princeton University Humanities Professor
Toni Morrison was honored as a National Humanities Medalist
on Wednesday, December 20, by President Clinton, in
recognition of her contributions to American cultural life
and thought. The National Endowment for the Humanities,
which sponsors the awards, described Morrison as America's
most renowned black woman writer.
Recipients are distinguished
individuals who have set the highest standards for American
cultural achievement, according to the NEH. President
Clinton, who selected the winners, and First Lady Hillary
Clinton are scheduled to present the medals Dec. 20 at
D.A.R. Constitution Hall. The medalists will be honored that
evening at a White House dinner.
Morrison is the Robert F. Goheen Professor
in the Council of the Humanities at Princeton, an
appointment she has held since 1989. Her seven major novels,
The Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon,
Tar Baby, Beloved, Jazz, and
Paradise, have received extensive critical
acclaim.
Awarded the Nobel Prize in
Literature in 1993, Morrison was the first African-American
winner and the first woman to win since 1938. She also won
the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for Beloved, and the
National Book Critics Award in 1977 for Song of
Solomon.
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Toni Morrison
Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities
photo: © Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
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