Trailblazing Toni Morrison wrote fearlessly, incisively about African-American experience

As a writer and editor, Toni Morrison fought her way into the literary canon. PHOTO: AFP
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SINGAPORE - "We die. That may be the meaning of life," said trailblazing African-American writer Toni Morrison when she became the first black woman to receive the Nobel Prize for literature in 1993. "But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives."

Morrison, the author of 11 novels including Song Of Solomon (1977) and Beloved (1987), died on Monday (Aug 5) aged 88. Her language is how many will measure their lives for generations to come.

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