Carolyn Denard and the Toni Morrison Society -- ep. by Howard Rambsy II

A brief take on the creation and evolution of the Toni Morrison Society, highlighting Carolyn Denard’s visionary leadership and the organization’s three-decade impact on sustaining, honoring, and expanding Morrison’s global legacy.

Script by Howard Rambsy II

Read by Kassandra Timm 

Transcript

On May 28, 1993, literary scholar Carolyn Denard convened a group of twenty-six scholars and supporters at the annual meeting of the American Literature Association in Baltimore, Maryland. The goal was to establish an organization devoted to the study and celebration of Toni Morrison’s work. Over the course of more than 30 years, Denard achieved that goal and then some. 

You’re listening to Remarkable Receptions, a podcast about the reach and circulation of African American literary art and more.

The creation of the Toni Morrison Society was, in retrospect, a visionary move. Just months after the formation of the organization, Morrison received the Nobel Prize in Literature, which elevated her profile to global heights. The new Toni Morrison Society provided the perfect foundation for ongoing scholarly attention and public commemoration. Since its founding moment, the Morrison Society has grown into one of the most ambitious and visible literary societies in the world, advancing Morrison’s legacy through conferences, teaching initiatives, bibliographic projects, and public memorials.

 From the beginning, Carolyn Denard understood that supporting Morrison’s work required more than interpretation—it required infrastructure and creative programming. The Society’s gatherings have brought together generations of teachers, students, and researchers to examine Morrison’s novels, essays, and cultural influence. 

 Annual panels at the American Literature Association and biennial conferences in places including Atlanta, Georgia, Lorain, Ohio, Washington D.C., Paris, and Martinique have built an enduring, international network of Morrison scholars. These gatherings ensure that Morrison’s works remain active subjects of inquiry while connecting academic scholarship with public life.

 The Society’s most notable initiative is the Bench by the Road Project, inspired by Morrison’s 1989 reflection that there was “no suitable memorial” to honor the lives of enslaved people. According to Morrison, there was “no small bench by the road” to provide people a location to reflect. In response, Denard and the Morrison Society began installing benches in historically significant sites across the United States and abroad. The first bench was placed on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, in 2008, where Morrison herself attended the dedication. Since then, more than twenty benches have been placed from Jackson, Mississippi, to Paris, France, and Fort-de-France, Martinique. Each dedication serves as both a memorial and a communal act of remembrance.

Across its long history of successful public programming, the Toni Morrison Society has shown what collective, organized scholarship can accomplish. Through Carolyn Denard’s leadership, the Society transformed admiration for one author into an enduring intellectual movement with a remarkable reception.

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This episode was written by Howard Rambsy, edited by Elizabeth Cali, and read by me, Kassandra Timm.

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