[Ads-l] Quote Origin: Nothing needs to be exposed since it is already barefaced

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

U.S. author Toni Morrison won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
Morrison's Nobel lecture included the statement in the subject line
which she attributed to an unnamed poet:

[Begin excerpt]
We have heard all our short lives that we have to be responsible. What
could that possibly mean in the catastrophe this world has become;
where, as a poet said, “nothing needs to be exposed since it is
already barefaced.” Our inheritance is an affront. You want us to have
your old, blank eyes and see only cruelty and mediocrity.
[End excerpt]

Back in 2022 I was asked to determine the identity of the poet.
Unfortunately, I made no progress. Now, I have created a Quote
Investigator article to let others know about this mystery.

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/03/31/already-barefaced/

Please let me know if you discover something interesting.
Garson O'Toole

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org