"Recitatif" is Toni Morrison's first published short story. It was initially published in 1983 in Confirmation: An Anthology of African American Women,[1] an anthology edited by Amiri Baraka and Amina Baraka, and is the only short story written by the acclaimed novelist. The story was reissued as a stand-alone book, introduced by Zadie Smith, published in February 2022.[2]
"Recitatif" is a story in racial writing, as the race of Twyla and Roberta are debatable.[3] Though the characters are clearly separated by class, neither is affirmed as African-American or White.[4] Morrison has described the story as "the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial".[5]
