Perspective

Toni Morrison, the author and narrator of "Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination," is also the author of Beloved, Song of Solomon and several other portrayals of African-American life. In this collection of essays, she examines the effect that the Africanist presence has on American literature and subsequently writers, especially black female writers, such as herself, writing in a racialized, sexualized, genderized world. Morrison writes to argue for the broadening of American literary studies in order to investigate the ways in which whiteness and blackness are constructed and the effect that this has on American literature.

Toni Morrison argues that, despite common notions to the contrary, the Africanist presence shares and forms American literature. She believes that it is impossible for America to be unaffected by its black population and offers evidence to support her point of view. Morrison's intended audience is readers and critics...