In this wide-ranging collection of thought-provoking interviews -- including her first and last -- Toni Morrison (whom President Barack Obama called a "national treasure") details not only her writing life, but also her other careers as a teacher and as a publisher, as well as the gripping story of her family. In fact, Morrison reveals here that her Nobel Prize-winning novels, such as Beloved and Song of Solomon, were born out of her family's stories -- such as those of her great-grandmother, born a slave, or her father, escaping the lynch mobs of the South. With an introduction by her close friend, poet Nikki Giovani, Morrison hereby weaves yet another fascinating and inspiring narrative -- that of herself.

The first interview : editor's personal commitment shapes a scrapbook of Black history / by Lila Freilicher (Publishers weekly, December, 1973) -- Interview with Toni Morrison / interview with Donald M. Suggs, Jr. (River Styx, 1986) -- Toni Morrison on capturing a mother's 'compulsion' to nurture in Beloved / interview with Charlayne Hunter-Gault (PBS NewsHour, 1987) -- Toni Morrison on love and writing, and dealing with race in literature / interview with Bill Moyers (PBS TV, March 11, 1990) -- The Salon interview : Toni Morrison / interview with Zia Jaffery (Salon, February, 1998) -- National Visionary Leadership Project / video interview with Camille O. Cosby (November 5, 2004) -- Toni Morrison's haunting resonance / interview with Christopher Bollen (Interview magazine, March, 2012) The last interview / interview with Alain Elkann (AlainElkannInterviews.com, October 14, 2018).