AP PHOTOS: Notable Nobel Literature winners from the past

FILE – In this April 5, 1994 file photo, Toni Morrison as she holds an orchid at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. On being awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature, Morrison’s work was praised for its “visionary force and poetic import” and for giving “life to an essential aspect of American reality.” Her novels, such as “Beloved,” have shone a light on the racial prejudices that have afflicted her homeland. This year’s winner is set to be announced on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)