Walker, Alice, 1944–, African-American novelist and poet, b. Eatonon, Ga. The daughter of sharecroppers, she studied at Spelman College (1961–63) and Sarah Lawrence College (B.A., 1965). She brings her travel experience in Africa and memories of the American civil-rights civil rights, rights that a nation's inhabitants enjoy by law. The term is broader than "political rights," which refer only to rights devolving from the franchise and are held usually only by a citizen, and unlike "natural rights," civil rights have a legal as well
..... Click the link for more information. movement to an examination of the experience of African Americans, mainly in the South, and of Africans. A self-described "womanist," she has maintained a strong focus on feminist issues within African-American culture. Walker won wide recognition with her novel The Color Purple (1982; Pulitzer Prize; film, 1985), a dark but sometimes joyous saga of a poor black Southern woman's painful journey toward self-realization. Among her other novels are Meridian (1976), The Temple of My Familiar (1989), By the Light of My Father's Smile (1994), and Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart (2004). Her short-story collections include You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down (1981) and the partially autobiographical The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart (2000). She has also written poetry, such as Revolutionary Petunias and Other Poems (1973), Her Blue Body Everything We Know: Earthling Poems 1965–1990 (1991), and Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth (2003). Many of her essays are collected in Living by the Word (1988) and Anything We Love Can Be Saved (1997).

Bibliography

See biography by E. C. White (2004); studies by D. W. Winchell (1992), H. L. Gates et al., ed. (1993), and Ikenna Dieke, ed. (1999).

Walker, Alice (Malsenior)

(born Feb. 9, 1944, Eatonton, Ga., U.S.) U.S. writer. After attending Spelman College and Sarah Lawrence College, Walker moved to Mississippi and became involved with the civil rights movement. She also began teaching and publishing short stories and essays. Her works are noted for their insightful treatment of African American culture. Her third and most popular novel, The Color Purple (1982, Pulitzer Prize; film, 1985), depicts a black woman's struggle for racial and sexual equality. Her later novels include The Temple of My Familiar (1989) and Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992). She also wrote essays, some collected in In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens (1983); several books of poetry; short stories; and children's books.

Walker, Alice (Malsenior) (1944– ) writer, poet; born in Eatonville, Ga. She studied at Spelman College (1961–63) and Sarah Lawrence (B.A. 1965). She worked in Georgia registering voters, with the Head Start program in Mississippi, and the welfare department in New York City. She settled in San Francisco but taught at many institutions. She won wide acclaim for her poetry and fiction, notably The Color Purple (1982), a novel that explores the experience of American black women. This work won the Pulitzer Prize (1983) and was made into a successful movie (1985). Much of her later writing revolves around racial and "womanist" concerns.