Alice
Walker was born on February 9, 1944 in Eatonton Georgia. She was Minnie
Tallulah (Lou) Grant and Willie Lee Walker's eighth child
(Jokinen,
1). Although she was born into the poverty of a sharecropper family, Walker's
mother refused to pull her from school to work the farm. This was an advantage
that her parents did not have (Christian, ed., 12). |
1965 |
Graduated
from Sarah Lawrence College |
| 1967 |
Married
Melvyn Levanthal, a white Civil RIghts Lawyer |
| When
Alice was eight, her brother shot her in the eye with a BB gun. Because
of the white scar tissue on her eye, Walker believed she was ugly and pulled
away from people. She spent her time watching people, reading, and writing
(Christian, ed., 56). This did not change until her older brother paid
for surgery to remove the scar tissue.
Right: Alice Walker was a happy, outgoing
child (Kramer, 17). |
|
|
Published
first piece, short story, "To Hell with Dying" |
1967-
68 |
Consultant
to
Black
Studies Friends of the Mississippi (collected oral history of black women) |
| 1968 |
Daughter
Rebecca was born |
| Regaining
confidence, Walker became the top student in her high school and obtained
a scholarship to attend Spellman, an all-black women's college. |
|
Published
Once:
Poems |
| 1970 |
Published
The
Third Life of Grange Copeland |
 |
After
two years, she transferred to Sarah Lawrence College. It was also at Sarah
Lawrence that her professor and mentor, Muriel Rukeyser, helped her to
publish her first book of poetry titled Once (Christian, ed., 56-7). |
1970-
71 |
Writer-in-Residence
at Tougaloo College, Mississippi |
| 1973 |
Published
In
Love and Trouble: Stories of Black Women |
Above:
Alice Walker as a student at Sarah Lawrence College with her teacher and
mentor Muriel Rukeyser. Rukeyser played a key role in getting Walker's
first book of poetry published.
(Kramer,
37). |
|
Published
Revolutionary
Petunias and Other Poems |
| During
her college years, she was active in the civil rights movement. She was
also an activist in the black movement of the 60's, and the women's movement
of the 70's. Today, she continues to bring these issues to people's attention
through her essays, poems, novels, and also through her lectures at various
schools. |
|
A
National Book Award nominee and winner of the Lillian Smith award from
the Southern Regional Council |
From
The
Southern Review 21 (Summer 1985): 706-720.
Photograph
copyright 1994 by Roland L. Freeman
|
1974 |
Published
Langston
Hughes, American Poet, a children's book |
| |
Received
Rosenthal award from the National Institute of Arts and Letters for In
Love and Trouble |
| |
Becomes
contributing editor to Ms. |
| 1976 |
Published
Meridian |
| |
Divorced
Levanthal |
| Walker's
inspirations include Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Zora Neale Hurston, and
her mother. Her mother showed her that the spirit can survive oppression
through creativity. Walker remembers that no matter how bad things were,
her mother always had a beautiful and colorful garden. |
1977 |
Appointed
Associate Professor at Yale |
| 1978 |
Received
Guggenheim Fellowship |
Alice
with her mother in 1979. Mrs. Walker is holding a photograph of her and
her husband taken in the 1930s. Mrs. Walker had great faith in her daughter's
abilities (Kramer, 27). |
Left:
Alice Walker with the rewards of her gardening (Kramer, 97).
|
1980 |
Taught
African American studies at Berkeley |
| 1981 |
Published
You
Can't Keep a Good Woman Down: Stories |
| 1982 |
Published
The
Color Purple |
| |
Nominated
for the National Book Critics Circle Award for The Color Purple |
| 1983 |
The
first black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in fiction for The Color
Purple |
| Alice
Walker, a poet and novelist, inspires young writers-to-be with her amazing
ability to work words into art. Beyond that, Walker uses her talent as
a writer to discuss issues that affect all people. Some of the issues her
books discuss are issues like domestic violence, and racism. Her books
not only bring these issues to everyone's attention, they also give people
the realization that we can change, and we can make a difference. Walker's
ability to cross boundaries and openly write about oppression truly makes
her one of the most inspirational people of the century. If I should ever
become an author, I would like to reach as many people as she has, with
the same intensity of voice. |
|
Published
In
Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose |
| 1984 |
The
Color Purple was made into a movie |
| 1988 |
Published
Living
by the Word |
| 1989 |
Published
The
Temple of My Familiar |
|
Recommended
Children's Reading:
People
to Know: Alice Walker:
Author
of The Color Purple
by
Barbara Kramer
(1995)
Picture
Books by
Alice
Walker:
To
Hell With Dying
Finding
the Green Stone
|
1992 |
Published
Possessing
the Secret of Joy |
| 1993 |
Published
Warrior
Marks: Female Genital Mutilation and The Sexual Blinding of Women |
| 1994 |
Published
Everyday
Use |
|
1997 |
Published
Anything
we Love can be Saved |
|
Yahooligans--Web
Guide for Kids
Children's
Literature Web Guide
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Guide for Teens
Back
to Home Page
References
Christian,
B. T. (ed.). (1994). "Everyday Use": Alice Walker.
Brunswick: University Press.
Jokinen,
A. Anniina's Alice Walker Page.
http://www.luminarium.org/emporary/alicew/
(Date visited: 6/23/98).
Kramer,
B. (1995). People to know: Alice Walker: Author of The
Color Purple. Springfield: Enslow Publishers, Inc.
|
| Created
by: EA Bashaw 8/5/98 |
