Creative Practice Reading Group: On Morrison, by Namwali Serpell

What does it mean to make art, write, and build a creative life—not only in its most luminous moments, but through the daily rituals, doubts, experiments, and persistence that sustain it?

The Creative Practice Reading Group is an event series that brings readers together to explore nonfiction books about the lived experience of creative work. Together, we’ll read closely and think deeply about how creative lives are formed, tested, and renewed over time.

Our next selection is On Morrison, by novelist and Harvard University professor Namwali Serpell. This analysis of Toni Morrison’s literary oeuvre explores her artistic genius and legend, but looks at her work critically and thoughtfully so that we discover the humanity Morrison so keenly illustrates in her writing.

While familiarity with Morrison’s full body of work is not essential, participants are also welcome to read (or revisit) her groundbreaking debut novel The Bluest Eye. Published in 1970, this coming-of-age story of Black girlhood is historically one of the most challenged books, making it a powerful anchor for our exploration of Morrison’s creative practice and enduring impact.

Each session is guided by a moderator and centers on lively, generous conversation. Participants are invited to reflect, share, and learn together—building a collective understanding of the peaks and valleys of making work and sustaining a creative life.

Imagined and launched by Anthem Books, the Creative Practice Reading Group series offers a welcoming space for artists, writers, and art lovers to talk honestly about how creative work actually happens—in all its complexity, discipline, and beauty.

Location: CORE Creative Placemaking at the Morris Museum (Second floor), 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ.

Time and date: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, April 25, 2026.

Tickets: $20 (including refreshments). Space is limited.

, by Namwali Serpell, at Anthem Books.

, by Toni Morrison, at Anthem Books.

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