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How Toni Morrison’s ‘Beloved’ Is Taught in Schools

25th Anniversary

It’s banned books week, and also the 25th anniversary of the publication of Toni Morrison’s Beloved, a classic that explores the legacy of slavery not with reductive moralizing but with psychological and narrative depth and complexity. But its frankness with race, violence and sex has made it a controversial choice in school curricula. Anna Clark looks at how the seminal novel is being taught to students.

articles/2012/10/04/how-toni-morrison-s-beloved-is-taught-in-schools/beloved-morrison-25th-anniversary-clark-tease_ixjus6
Michael Lionstar, Alfred A. Knopf / AP Photo

It’s hard to talk about Beloved.

Toni Morrison’s novel, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, comes weighed with a reputation as a great American classic.

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