An under-edited mess, this book is mostly speeches and lectures Morrison gave to audiences—bolstered by a few essays written for publication.

The problem? Many of the pieces echo or outright lift portions from others included in the volume, making the book feel like a repetitive fever-dream at points. And the content is great when it comes to Morrison exploring the themes in her own work or other writers, but falls short when talking about other issues. Now I know why nobody talks about Morrison’s non-fiction writing!