Toni Morrison Day 2024
This Year’s Theme: Community
Program Schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024 (Great Hall Annex 400)
3:30 p.m.–4:15 p.m.: Book Discussion (Sigma Tau Delta Special Event)
Moderated by Jeffrey Jackson, Ph.D.
- Organized by members of Sigma Tau Delta. The Toni Morrison Book Club will discuss Morrison’s “Beloved.”
Friday, February 23, 2024 (Pozycki Hall Auditorium)
10:05 a.m.–11:25 a.m.: Opening Remarks; Harlem Renaissance Presentation
Moderated by Joseph Torchia, M.A.
- Corey Dzenko, Ph.D.
- Abha Sood, Ph.D.
- Hettie Williams, Ph.D.
11:40 a.m.–1:00 p.m.: Morrison’s Nobel Lecture Discussion
Moderated by Brittany Biesiada, Ph.D.; Joseph Torchia, M.A.; and Abha Sood, Ph.D.
1:15 p.m.–2:15 p.m.: Student Panel
Moderated by Lynn Siracusa, Ed.D.
- Kaitlin McGuire
- Gabriella Petrillo
- Lincoln Pereira
2:20 p.m.–3:05 p.m.: Toni Morrison Day Digital Poster Contest and Toni Morrison Day Creative Writing Contest
Moderated by Jennifer Harpootlian, M.A.; Mihaela Moscaliuc, Ph.D.;, and Kurt Wagner, Ph.D.
- Winners will be announced.
3:30 p.m.–5 p.m.: Keynote Speaker Ross Gay
- Reading followed by a Q&A and book signing
Ross Gay is the author of the poetry collections “Against Which” (2006), “Bringing the Shovel Down” (2011), and “Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude” (2015, winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award), and “Be Holding” (2022, winner of the PEN American Literary Jean Stein Award). As an essayist, he has published “The Book of Delights”, a 2019 New York Times bestseller, “Inciting Joy” (2022), and “The Book of (More) Delights” (2023). Gay is founding co-editor of the online sports magazine Some Call it Ballin’ and an ardent gardener and founding board member of the Bloomington Community Orchard, a non-profit, free-fruit-for-all food justice and joy project.
Special Thanks to Our Co-Sponsors and Community Partner
- Intercultural Center
- Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences
- School of Social Work
- Leon Hess Business School
- Department of History and Anthropology
- Guggenheim Memorial Library
- Monmouth Review
- Project Write Now
Creative Writing Contest
Organized and Sponsored by the Monmouth Review Club
This year’s theme is Community. We invite submissions that engage with this theme along with other aspects of Toni Morrison’s work and legacy, including but not limited to social justice, civil rights, Black history, race, gender, diversity, and inclusion.
Eligibility: Contest open to all Monmouth University students.
Deadline: Jan. 15, 2024
Submit: Up to three poems (maximum six pages total) or two prose pieces, fiction or non-fiction (maximum eight pages each, double-spaced, Times New Roman). No cover letter necessary. Type your name only at the top of the first page. You may submit work in both categories (prose and poetry).
Upload the submission(s) in the Toni Morrison Day Creative Writing Contest 2024 folder in the Monmouth Review on eCampus. Note: The Monmouth Review e-‘course’ might be unpinned).
Only original, previously unpublished poems or prose pieces may be submitted. Submit all work in one file, as a Word document (.docx). Submissions will be evaluated by members of the Monmouth Review editorial board; Monmouth Review club members who are not on the evaluation committee are welcome to submit.
The winners will be notified by Feb. 16 and will be invited to present their work during Toni Morrison Day on Feb. 23, 2024. Additionally, winners will receive $75 gift cards and their work will be published in the 2024 issue of the Monmouth Review.
Digital Poster Competition
Sponsored by the Guggenheim Memorial Library
This year’s theme is Community. We invite submissions that engage with this theme along with other aspects of Toni Morrison’s work and legacy, including but not limited to social justice, civil rights, Black history, race, gender, diversity, and inclusion.
Eligibility: Contest open to all full-time students at Monmouth University. all entries should be submitted on an individual basis.
Entry Limit: One poster per student.
Deadline: Contest opens Nov. 15, 2023. Entries must be submitted by Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.
Requirements: Design a poster representing the theme “Community” in the celebration of Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison’s birthday. The posters may engage with any aspect of Toni Morrison’s work and legacy, including issues related to social justice, civil rights, Black history, race, gender, diversity, and inclusion. Only original work is allowed. If you have a photograph (or images) as part of your poster, please confirm that either you took the photo or you have obtained legal rights to use the photo/images.
Poster designs should contain: The name of the event (Toni Morrison Day) and the date: February 23, 2024. *A small credit line with the student’s name.
Poster Size: The poster can be horizontal or vertical, measuring 48″ x 36″ (ratio of 4:3).
Media: any mixed media suitable for reproduction as a poster is allowed, including computer-generated graphics. All posters must be original art. No trademarked or copyrighted images or phrases should be used.
Submission Format: Digital designs should be submitted as a 300 dpi JPG or PDF. A traditional painting or drawing should be scanned and sent as a 300 dpi JPG or PDF to tonimorrisonday@monmouth.edu.
Winners: Three winners will be chosen by a panel of judges (representatives from the English department’s committee and the Library). The winners will be notified on Feb. 16, 2024, and announced on Feb. 23, 2024. The three winning posters will each win a $75 gift card.
Display and Rights: The winning poster will be displayed at the University Library and reproduced on the official Toni Morrison Day webpage. The department/University will use the poster in whole for display or promotion only. All posters will, however, remain the property of the creator. Entry in the contest constitutes full permission to publish names and photos of winners and contestants without further compensation. The determination of eligibility of entries and any interpretation of these rules is at the sole discretion of the TMD committee and shall be final and binding upon all entrants.