For this episode we’ll be looking back on the legacy of Toni Morrison with Nambi E. Kelley. Kelley is an actor, playwright, and screenwriter. As an actor she’s appeared in numerous onstage roles with leading regional theaters, as well as in TV shows like Search Party, Madame Secretary, Elementary, and The Beast opposite Patrick Swayze. Her writing career has included plays like Xtigone, For Her as a Piano, and, perhaps most prominently, an acclaimed adaptation of Richard Wright’s novel Native Son, which has been widely produced and is currently running Off-Broadway in a production by The Acting Company. Her latest play, however, is an adaptation of Toni Morrison’s novel Jazz, written at Morrison’s request. Given Morrison’s recent passing, this seemed like a perfect opportunity to reflect on her literary impact, as well as to catch up with Kelley on her busy artistic life—which now also includes writing for the third season of Showtime’s series The Chi. 

If you’re a fan of either of these writers’ work, I think you’re going to enjoy this conversation on what it was like for Kelley to spend the last few years delving into Morrison’s writing, including the unexpected phrase she found that, to quote her, “blew her mind.” But in addition to discussing her adaptation of Jazz, she also shares an inside look at how she got her new job in television, and somehow this interview even ends with her father’s advice on relationships. So if you wanted some TV and dating tips thrown in with your coverage of the late Toni Morrison’s Nobel Prize-winning legacy, this show has you covered. 

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