Includes interviews with the Nobel Laureate that bring into the foreground Morrison's comments on American literature and society, the academy, and her own work. She discusses growing up in Lorain, Ohio, her role as editor at Random House, the continuing evolution of her style, her teaching philosophy, and her most recent novels Jazz, Paradise, and Love. This volume includes interviews and profiles from the 1970s and 1980s that were not collected in Conversations with Toni Morrison (1993) and a rich collection of new interviews published together for the first time, including conversations with Paula Giddings, Salman Rushdie, Charlie Rose, and Elissa Schappell.

Includes index.

3 --10 -- 17 -- 24 -- 29 -- 32 -- 38 -- 44 -- 51 -- 62 -- 91 -- 98 -- 107 -- 126 -- 139 -- 155 -- 159 -- 171 -- 178 -- 196 -- 206 -- 214 -- 216 -- 224 -- 228. Jessica Harris Paula Giddings Pepsi Charles Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference Eugene Redmond Donald Suggs Audrey T. McCluskey Salman Rushdie Elissa Schappell Jazz Angels Carabi Claudia Dreifus Cecil Brown Sheldon Hackney Zia Jaffrey Elizabeth Farnsworth A.J. Verdelle Michael Silverblatt Carolyn C. Denard Ann Hostetler Adam Langer Diane McKinney-Whetstone Love Michael Silverblatt Michael Saur Pam Houston -- "I Will Always Be a Writer" / -- The Triumphant Song of Toni Morrison / -- An Interview with Toni Morrison / -- Faulkner and Women / -- Interview with Toni Morrison / -- Interview with Toni Morrison / -- A Conversation with Toni Morrison / -- A Bench by the Road: Beloved by Toni Morrison The World: The Journal of the Unitarian Universalist Association -- An Interview with Toni Morrison / -- Toni Morrison: The Art of Fiction / -- Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison Speaks about Her Novel / -- Chloe Wofford Talks about Toni Morrison / -- Interview with Toni Morrison / -- "I Come from People Who Sang All the Time": A Conversation with Toni Morrison / -- Toni Morrison / -- Conversation: Toni Morrison / -- Loose Magic: A.J. Verdelle Interviews Toni Morrison / -- "Things We Find in Language": A Conversation with Toni Morrison / -- Blacks, Modernism, and the American South: An Interview with Toni Morrison / -- Interview with Toni Morrison: "The Art of Teaching" / -- Star Power / -- The Nature of Love: An Interview with Toni Morrison / -- Michael Silverblatt Talks with Toni Morrison about / -- "I Want to Write like a Good Jazz Musician": Interview with Toni Morrison / -- Pam Houston Talks with Toni Morrison / Acknowledgments -- Introduction --Chronology -- "I will always be a writer" -- The triumphant song of Toni Morrison -- An interview with Toni Morrison -- Faulkner and women -- Interview with Toni Morrison -- A conversation with Toni Morrison -- A bench by the road: Beloved by Toni Morrison -- An interview with Toni Morrison -- Toni Morrison: the art of fiction -- Nobel laureate Toni Morrison speaks about her novel Jazz -- Chloe Wofford talks about Toni Morrison -- Interview with Toni Morrison -- "I come from people who sang all the time:" a conversation with Toni Morrison -- Toni Morrison -- Conversation: Toni Morrison -- Loose Magic: A.J. Verdelle interviews Toni Morrison -- "Things we find in language:" a conversation with Toni Morrison -- Blacks, modernism, and the American south: an interview with Toni Morrison -- Interview with Toni Morrison: "the art of teaching" -- Star power -- The nature of love: an interview with Toni Morrison -- Michael Silverblatt talks with Toni Morrison about Love -- "I want to write like a good jazz musician:" interview with Toni Morrison -- Pam Houston talks with Toni Morrison.