Virtual: The Salon at Mama Koko's -Jazz

All that Jazz

Following in the tradition of other literary royalty, Langston Hughes, Ralph Ellison, and James Baldwin, Toni Morrison utilizes jazz both literally and metaphorically to offer a perspective of Black life in literature. In his essay, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” Hughes discusses Jazz’s importance. He writes, Jazz to me is one of the inherent expressions of Negro Life in America; the eternal tom-tom beating in the Negro soul—the tom-tom of revolt against weariness in the white world. . .. the
tom -tom of joy, laughter, and pain swallowed with a smile. 

The community of readers, that has now grown into a family here at the Salon at Mama Koko’s will explore the literary world of Toni Morrison’s Jazz for the month of March. Jazz as an authentic African aesthetic that voices our passion, and power allows us to tap deep within using improvisation, exploration, and a nuanced Black creativity.
Jazz, (1992), Toni Morrison’s sixth novel employs a set of distinctive Jazz characteristics and constructs the concept of spirituality as the matrix for text, context, and ritual performance. Using syncopated, improvisational language, mimetic of jazz music, Morrison recodifies spiritual knowledge drawn from various African traditions. These spiritual riffs allow characters and readers to gain meaning in their respective literary environments. My consideration of narrative modes includes a description of the Yoruba Orisa of the hunt, Ochossi, and the manner in which Morrison inscribes specific attributes to him. Moreover, an analysis of ceremonial acts such as propitiation, honoring the phenomenon of pursuit, will serve as the basis for this interpretation. In the salon our discussions will consider Ochossi’s major attributes as well as his connection with the Orisa Oshun and other spiritual ideas to advance Morrison’s trajectory of memory.

Dates for the March Salon are March 14 and March 28 for both in-person and virtual. As usual,mwe will begin our book discussion at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard time. Promptly. A video recording on the Zoom will be made available to all participants.

When you register on the link please include your email so that course materials and the zoom link can be mailed out to you. I cannot stress this enough. Please, please, please. When you register include a working email. Looking forward to having this discussion of one of my favorite novels of all time.

Mama Koko