Weekly Classics Discussions

Alice Walker

"We are the ones we have been waiting for"

- Alice Walker

Born as the eight child (February 9, 19440 ) to sharecroppers Willie Lee and Minnie Lou Grant Walker in rural Georgia, Alice Malsenior Walker is a poet, essayist and a novelist.  An African American writer, Walker is known for her study and treatment on Afro-American culture and the treatment of women. At eight years old,  her brother scarred and blinded her right eye. She continued to face embarrassment for a long time until a doctor removed her scar tissue. Despite excelling in different fields at school, she continued to feel like an outsider and gradually developed a deep passion for reading and writing in solitude. 

Her first book was a poetry book titled 'Once' which appeared in 1968 followed by the publication of her first novel , 'The Third Life of Grange Copeland' two years later. In 1973, "In Love and Troubles : Stories of Black Women", Walker's first collection of short stories appeared. The same year also saw the publication of her second book of poetry , "Revolutionary Petunias and Other Poems. "
Alice Walker gained fame with her most popular novel 'The Colour Purple' in 1982. "The Color Purple ... could be the kind of popular and literary event that transforms an intense reputation into a national one", remarked Gloria Steinem. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 1983.  Narrated through the voice of Celie in first person, The Color Purple is an epistolary novel—a work structured through a series of letters. Celie writes about the misery of childhood incest faced by her, physical abuses, and loneliness in her "letters to God." Her deepest hopes and her efforts to stand equal with the male members of the society bears fruit with help of a loving community of women, including her husband's mistress, Shug Avery, and Celie's sister, Nettie. Celie gradually learns to see herself as a desirable and a confident woman, a healthy and valuable part of the universe. Walker's harshest critics have condemned her portrayal of Black men in the novel as "male-bashing," but others praise her forthright depiction of taboo subjects and her clear rendering of folk idiom and dialect. In 1985 the novel was adapted into a film, directed by Steven Spielberg. The musical stage adaptation premiered at the in Atlanta in 2004 and opened on Broadway in 2005.

 Walker's later works of fiction includes The Temple of My Familiar in 1989, Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992), By the Light of My Father's Smile (1998), the story of a family of anthropologists posing as missionaries in order to gain access to a Mexican tribe; and Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart (2005), about an older woman's quest for identity.

Walker has continued to garner appreciation to master the art of portraying the racial and gender equality through her works. Reflecting on the unique perspective and versatility of her literary career, Walker says, "One thing I try to have in my life and my fiction is an awareness of and openness to mystery, which, to me, is deeper than any politics, race, or geographical location." Walker's creative vision is rooted in the economic hardship, racial terror, and folk wisdom of African American life and culture, particularly in the rural South. Her writing have successfully delved into the multifold kinships among women, their dynamic relationships and embraces the redemptive power of social and political revolution.

DISCUSSION QUESTION

What impact do you think Walker's writing has on the Afro American women?

Which is your favourite work by Alice Walker ? Why ? 

Always open to additional comments and discussions on Alice Walker and her works.

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RESOURCES 

Alice Walker - Britannica 

Walker - Poetry Foundation