When a journalist once made a comparison between one of Toni Morrison’s books and “The Cosby Show,” the author shook her head and said, “That’s like comparing apples and Buicks.” That’s Toni Morrison – able to make a metaphor out of anything on the spot. We recently caught up with the Nobel Prize-winning author as she took a break from promoting her latest work, “Paradise.” Morrison’s book tour stops in Chicago at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St. (312-364-0126). Her reading is sponsored by Brent Books. You can go to chicago.tribune.com/go/morrison for more of the interview.
What was the significance of starting “Paradise” with the line “They shoot the white girl first”?
It’s just the way the book began. It was powerful and launched the book and probably entrapped the reader. Also, it signaled race (a theme that could then be dropped for a while). And I wanted to begin with the assault and have the rest of the book arrive at the moment before the actual pulling of the trigger, since the bulk of the book is how they got to that point.
Over the years, which of your characters has had the most impact on you? Which are your most and least favorite?
I don’t have favorites. I am very much involved in the company of the characters of a book for years, because it takes anywhere from three to six years for me to write each book. I’ve never written (a book) in less than three years. And by the time I’m finished, I’ve got to let them go.
How much screenwriting control did you have after you sold the movie rights for “Beloved” to Oprah Winfrey?
I have no screenwriting duties or obligations. And I have nothing to do with the movie, (nothing to do with) planning it or executing it at all. I didn’t want to be involved in moviemaking. I just write books, and getting involved in the movie would have been a major distraction for me.
Since you were awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993, do you think your work has been put under a microscope?
It has always been under a microscope, from the very first time I wrote a book. That’s what critical analysis is. The pressure is the pressure I put on myself to write up to my own standards. The Nobel Prize, if anything, would have relieved me of that burden. In many instances, that prize in literature makes it easier not to write at all. You can rest on your laurels.
Why do you think the style of Terry McMillan (“Waiting to Exhale”) has spawned imitators, but your style of writing hasn’t?
I read Terry McMillan. I like her books. I’m delighted that there are popular culture novels with African-American women and men in them. There have always been books like that by white authors. There’s room out there for all kinds of books by African-American writers. They should all be encouraged.
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