The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Program honors Toni Morrison
Main Branch of Lorain Public Library hosts discussion on deceased author
The Main Branch of Lorain Public Library hosted an evening discussion remembering literary icon and Lorain native Toni Morrison.
In the Toni Morrison Reading Room dedicated to the Nobel Prize winning author in 1995, the community heard stories of her Lorain roots and path to global recognition for her writing and teaching.
Lorain resident Karen Wootten fondly remembered going to the library as a child with her siblings and brought her collection of Toni Morrison novels she inherited from her grandmother who knew Toni Morrison’s mother Ramah Wofford.
“We used to walk over to the house all the time because we lived across the tracks from them and once in a while she (Wofford) would show us books that Chloe (Toni Morrison) autographed and would show them to my grandmother,” Wootten said. “And my grandmother was so proud. She had so much by Chloe Wofford (Toni Morrison).”
Wootten recalled going to the library every week along with her 10 siblings with her grandmother.
“I am more than proud to have these books with me and she was proud to be in the presence of people who did things with their lives,” Wootten added.
Toni Morrison’s story began in Lorain with retired librarian Valerie Smith speaking about one of
her first jobs as a shelver at the Lorain Public Library’s main branch as a teenager.
“She wasn’t the greatest shelver because she spent so much time reading,” Smith said.
In a May, 2018 article published by the New York Public Library’s staff blog quoted Morrison recalling her experiences as a shelver.
“Every shift started with a tall stack of returned books – fiction, history, drama poetry, everything. It didn’t pay much but it was magical. Then I got fired.”
Morrison continued writing well into her 80s with her most recent novel “God Help the Child” published in 2015. Her work ethic and creative energy was not lost on anyone.
“I don’t think this woman (Morrison) ever knew how to relax. She was always getting up at five in the morning and working on something,” Smith added.
A documentary feature, “Toni Morrison: Pieces of Me” screened at the Lorain Palace Theater after years in development.
Cheri Campbell, an adult services librarian at the Main Branch, said the film will be showing on PBS and streaming services in the near future. It has been accepted by the Sundance Film Festival.
Morrison passed away on Aug. 5 at the age of 88 following a brief illness leaving the literary world and her hometown mourning.