I'm MSNBC's Ali Velshi. Welcome to the last episode of the Velshi Band Book Club, at least for this season.

Today's meeting is a little different.

We're featuring two authors who are no longer with us, but who have written novels,

impacted culture, and carved a legacy that will never die.

I'm talking about Tony Morrison and Zora Neal Hurston.

Morrison and Hurston share much in common, a mastery of the written word,

an interest in exploring black womanhood, and their role in American society,

and the way in which they both expanded literary convention.

Both women are revolutionary in their writing, their ideas,

and their fearless demand for space in a society that did not want to make room.

This last episode of Season 1 of the Velshi Band Book Club is exploring the black literary canon in America

and the contribution of these two giants.

I really want to get into the books, so let's start with Beloved by Tony Morrison.

During an earlier meeting of the Velshi Band Book Club, I noted the reasons a book can make an impact.

I said sometimes it's the words on the page.

Sometimes it's the theme of the text.

Sometimes it's because of a remarkable author,

and sometimes it's all three. Tony Morrison and her canon are all three, categorically.

Today on the Velshi Band Book Club, we honor the prolific Tony Morrison and her work.

Let's start with the woman responsible for the words. The late Tony Morrison is the author of numerous fiction, nonfiction, and children's books. She received the

highest of honors for her work, including a Pulitzer Prize for Beloved, a Nobel Prize for

her contribution to literature, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.

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