Meet Alice Walker

Writer (1944- )

Recognized as one of the leading voices among black American women writers, Alice Walker has produced an acclaimed and varied body of work, including poetry, novels, short stories, essays, and criticism. Her writings portray the struggle of black people throughout history and are praised for their insightful and riveting portraits of black life, in particular, the experiences of black women in a sexist and racist society. Her most famous work, the award-winning and best-selling novel The Color Purple, chronicles the life of a poor and abused southern black woman who eventually triumphs over oppression through affirming female relationships. Walker has described herself as a womanist--her term for a black feminist--which she defines in the introduction to her book of essays, In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose, as one who appreciates and prefers women's culture, women's emotional flexibility, women's strength...and one who is committed to the survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female. Read Ms. Walker’s entire biography; it is quite interesting.