The identifying fictions of Toni Morrison

John N. Duvall

"Although all published biographical sketches of Toni Morrison agree that her birth name was Chloe Anthony Wofford, this information is apparently incorrect. Using previously unknown biographical documents, John Duvall explores the issue of names and naming in Morrison's fiction and repeatedly finds surprising traces of the Nobel prize-winning author's struggle to construct a useable identity as an African American woman novelist. Whatever the exact circumstances surrounding her decision to become Toni, one thing becomes clear: the question of identity was not a given for Morrison because she rejected her given name."--Jacket.