Kindred spirits: Chinua Achebe and Toni Morrison

Introduction: Toni Morrison, African Literature, Chinua Achebe

"Things fall together": or, rootedness: the village as foundation

ReMemorying the (village) pasts where the rains began to beat us: Things fall apart and Beloved

Slavery, migration, urbanity, kindred Black music, and the anomies of new village Black subjectivities: No longer at ease and Jazz

On Black village havens impelled by history, impeded by opposing visions of the (past) wills of Gods and founders: Arrow of God and Paradise

Conclusion: May the path never close.