Jazz

novel by Morrison

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June 29, 2026

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Toni Morrison's novel Jazz is set in Harlem during the 1920s and explores themes of violence and passion. The novel was published in 1992, the year before Morrison received the Nobel Prize for Literature.12

Jazz is one of Morrison's many acclaimed works that examine the Black experience, particularly that of Black women, within the Black community. Her writing is noted for its poetic and luminous prose. Other notable novels by Morrison include The Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Beloved. Her work often delves into the complexities of race, class, gender, and the enduring legacy of slavery.12

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African American literature
African American roots
Four years later, Morrison published Jazz, a novel of murder and reconciliation set in Harlem during the 1920s, and Playing in the Dark, a trenchant examination of whiteness as a thematic obsession in American literature. In 1993 Morrison became the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Prize for…
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Four years later, Morrison published Jazz, a novel of murder and reconciliation set in Harlem during the 1920s, and Playing in the Dark, a trenchant examination of whiteness as a thematic obsession in American literature. In 1993 Morrison became the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Prize for…
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American literature
African American literature
(1977), Beloved (1987), Jazz (1992), and Paradise (1998), Toni Morrison created a strikingly original fiction that sounded different notes from lyrical recollection to magic realism. Like Ellison, Morrison drew on diverse literary and folk influences and dealt with important phases of Black history—i.e., slavery in Beloved and the…
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(1977), Beloved (1987), Jazz (1992), and Paradise (1998), Toni Morrison created a strikingly original fiction that sounded different notes from lyrical recollection to magic realism. Like Ellison, Morrison drew on diverse literary and folk influences and dealt with important phases of Black history—i.e., slavery in Beloved and the…
Read More

Toni Morrison
Nobel Prize
In 1992 Morrison released Jazz, a story of violence and passion set in New York City’s Harlem during the 1920s; a research assistant on the book was Princeton student MacKenzie (Bezos) Scott. The following year she received the Nobel Prize for Literature. In her Nobel lecture, Morrison spoke of…
Read More
In 1992 Morrison released Jazz, a story of violence and passion set in New York City’s Harlem during the 1920s; a research assistant on the book was Princeton student MacKenzie (Bezos) Scott. The following year she received the Nobel Prize for Literature. In her Nobel lecture, Morrison spoke of…
Read More