Toni Morrison was born Chloe Anthony Wofford in Lorain, Ohio, on February 18, 1931. She was the daughter of a shipyard welder and a religious woman who sang in the church choir. Morrison had a sister, Lois, and two younger brothers, George and Raymond. Despite having left the South (in hopes of escaping the racism of the region), the Woffords retained the oral traditions of Southern African American communities. The songs and stories of Chloe Wofford's childhood undoubtedly influenced her later work; indeed, Toni Morrison's oeuvre draws heavily upon the oral art forms of African Americans. Although her writing is not autobiographical, Morrison has said of her past, "I am from the Midwest...
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