Toni Morrison and the Queer Pleasure of Ghosts / Juda Bennett.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bennett, Juda, 1955- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Morrison, Toni, 1931-2019--Criticism and interpretation.

Morrison, Toni.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (218 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, [2014]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Toni Morrison and the Queer Pleasure of Ghosts radically intervenes in one of the most established and sacred topics in Toni Morrison scholarship, love. Moving beyond Morrison's representation of ghosts as the forgotten or occluded past, Juda Bennett uncovers how Morrison imagines the spectral sphere as always already queer, a provocation and challenge to heteronormativity—with the ghost appearing as an active participant in disruptions of compulsory heterosexuality, as a figure embodying closet desires, or as a disembodied emanation that counterpoints homophobia. From The Bluest Eye to Home, Morrison's novels have included many queer ghosts that challenge our most cherished conceptions of love and speak to cultural anxieties about black sexualities, gay marriage, AIDS, lesbian visibility, and transgender identities. Not surprisingly, the scene-stealing ghost Beloved appears at the very heart of this book, but Bennett cautions against interpretative stasis, inviting readers to break free of the stranglehold Beloved has had on imaginations, so as not to miss the full force of Morrison's lifelong project to queer love.

Contents:

Spirit: Sula haunts Beloved

Houses: Beloved haunts Paradise

Matriarchy: Paradise haunts Love

Music: Love haunts Song of Solomon

Voice: Song of Solomon haunts Jazz

Blackness: Jazz haunts Tar Baby

Whiteness: Tar Baby haunts a Mercy

Mutable bodies: the Bluest Eye haunts Home.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781438453576

1438453574