"But even then, there was a whole line of people hoping to get in stand-by," Chong recalled.
"I wanted to get there early because it was one of those few rare moments to actually see Toni Morrison read. I didn't want to miss it," Chong said.
Victoria L. Merriman '98, was at the event with Hsuan L. Hsu '98.
"Every book by her is an incredibly intense experience...the reading was Merriman, who has read Morrison'sBeloved and Sula, also added thatthe reading made her decide to readParadise as soon as she finished herthesis. Chong described Beloved, which she readlast semester in tutorial, as "fabulous." "Tony Morrison has just a very distinctivevoice," Chong said. During the question and answer session whichfollowed the reading. Morrison said her writingwas influenced more by paintings rather than byliterature, and said she liked reading authors whoshe felt had different styles than her own. "If I ever think one of my sentences looks likesomeone else's, I'd throw it away," Morrison said. Vincent T. Chen contributed to the reportingof this story.