A biography of the novelist Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison is an African-American professor and novelist, whose books have had an enormous impact on the world of literature. Those who are familiar with her work, such as Tunde Folawiyo, will probably know that her novels have led to her winning several prestigious awards over the years; in 1988 she won a Pulitzer, and five years later she received the Nobel Prize for Literature. More recently, in 2012, she was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Born in Ohio in 1931, Morrison was named Chloe Ardelia Wofford (she chose to change her first name to Toni when she was a student at university).  She was an avid reader, and was often found poring over the writings of novelists such as Flaubert, Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. An intelligent and talented young woman, she graduated with honours from her local high school, and went on to complete her undergraduate degree at Howard University.

In 1955, she received her MA from Cornell, after which she accepted a job at Texas Southern University. She remained in this position for two years, and then decided to return to Howard, to work as a lecturer. In the mid-1960s, she also took up fiction editing. In 1970 her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published; this work, with its poetic dialogue, complex characters and powerful theme, captured the attention of many, and was very well received by critics and readers alike. Morrison wrote this novel while teaching full-time at Howard, and raising her two young children.

In 1973 her second book, entitled Sula, was published; two years after its publication, it was nominated for the National Book Award. However, it was her third novel that established Morrison as one of the greatest writers of her time; Song of Solomon was selected for the Book of the Month Club, and also won the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Prize.

Her next work, Beloved, was written during the 1980s. Despite becoming a critical success, it was not chosen as the winner for the NBCC Prize, or the National Book Award. However, literature fanatics like Tunde Folawiyo might recall that a number of well-known writers and critics protested against this decision, and in 1988 it won Morrison not only the American Book Award, but also the Pulitzer Prize.  Her most recent work, Paradise, was released in the late 1990s.

An overview of Alice Walker's achievements

Alice Walker is an activist and author, who is most famed for having penned 'The Colour Purple', a novel which won her the Pulitzer Prize, and the National Book Award. Born in 1944, Walker grew up in Georgia. She did well academically, becoming the valedictorian of her high school graduation class, and going on to receive scholarships from both Sarah Lawrence College and Spelman College. Whilst her studies took up much of her time, Walker was also a passionate activist, and at the age of 18, she received an invitation to Martin Luther King Junior's home, in recognition of her participation in the Youth World Peace Festival.

Walker wrote her first collection of poems during her final year at Sarah Lawrence. She continued to compose poems and short-stories after graduating; however, it was her novels - of which there are now six in total - that brought her into the limelight. As a literature buff, Tunde Folawiyo might know that her books focus primarily on the lives of African Americans, and their experiences and relationships with people of other races.

Soon after her 26th birthday, Walker's first novel, which she entitled 'The Third Life of Grange Copeland' was published. Six years later, 'Meridian', her second novel, was released; this work explored the lives of activists working in the southern states of the USA during the civil rights movement, and was loosely based on the experiences Walker herself had several years before.

Book lovers such as Tunde Folawiyo may recall that her most famous novel, 'The Colour Purple' was published in 1982. This told the story of a young African American woman, who struggled to overcome the racial and patriarchal oppression which she endured throughout her life. The novel was enormously successful; in addition to earning Walker the above-mentioned awards, it was also adapted for film in 1985, and turned into a Broadway musical in 2005.

Although she is best known as an author, Walker has served as a university lecturer too, working at several institutes, including the University of California, Brandeis, Yale, the University of Massachusetts and Wellesley. She has also been a strong proponent of feminism throughout her life, and is now considered to be an important advocate for women's rights now only in the USA, but in countries all over the world.

As an entrepreneur, Folawiyo always enjoys learning about the lives of inspirational figures like Walker. Those who wish to obtain further information about this businessman and his work can follow Tunde Folawiyo projects online.