Celebrated American writer and essayist, Toni Morrison, has died at the age of 88.
The family of the author said she died “following a short illness.”
She died in Montefiore Medical Center in New York on Monday night.
Describing her as “our adored mother and grandmother”, Morrison’s family said: “Although her passing represents a tremendous loss, we are grateful she had a long, well lived life. While we would like to thank everyone who knew and loved her, personally or through her work, for their support at this difficult time, we ask for privacy as we mourn this loss to our family.”
Morrison’s work includes classics such as ‘Beloved,’ ‘The Bluest Eye,’ and ‘Song of Solomon,’ novels that examined chapters of America’s past.
In 1993, Morrison became the first black woman to receive the Nobel literature prize. Other awards include the Pulitzer Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction.
Morrison’s novel, ‘Beloved,’ is routinely ranked among the greatest novels of the 20th century.
