81 Alice Walker Facts To Know About The American Novelist

Alice walker is a fantastic writer whose writings resemble and gives excellent insight into the African American culture.

Alice walker was born on February 9, 1944, in a small rural farming town in Eatonton, Georgia. Most of her writings are fictional and essay models, depicting the inequalities based on gender and race.

She wrote almost 17 novels and short stories,12 non-fiction works, many poems, essays, and unpublished works. She is a feminist and activist who participated in numerous groups to bring awareness, protest against social causes, and safeguard the civil rights of the citizens.

Learn more detailed facts for kids about Alice walker's life and her works in literature below. If you want to read similar articles, please refer to Alex Haley's facts and Eli Whitney's facts here at Kidadl.

Fun Facts About Alice Walker

Zora Hurston, a famous writer, died in Florida. Because of the interest and research by Alice Walker, the unmarked grave of Hurston was found and marked with a special note on it.

Apart from Hurston, the writers who influence the literary world are South African novelist Bessie Head, Black Chicago poet Gwendolyn Brooks, Harlem Renaissance writer Jean Toomer. Alice lost sight of one of the eyes at the age of eight years because of a brother's air gunshot.

As the family could not afford minimum transportation, she permanently became blind with one eye.

Soon Walker began to find solace in writing after that incident. Let us know more such fascinating and amusing facts about Alice walker.

By marrying a Jewish person, Melvyn Rosenman was the first interracial couple in Mississippi. Her famous work, 'The Color Purple', also featured in Broadway musical (2005) and performed round to 910 plays.

Through her writings, she always tries to centralize the real-world problems the women are going through in the dominant male society. Walker's first collection of poetry (1968) 'Once' is an outcome of Alice walker's suicidal and depressed period because of early pregnancy and abortion issues.

Facts About Alice Walker's Accomplishments

Throughout her career, Alice Walker earned recognizable image and fame. Readers started adoring her thoughts and writings, and soon she became an important and influential figure who helped many Black women lead a life with confidence and independence. She stood against the oppression of Black people.

Alice walker is the first feminist who used the term womanism but still believes in the wholeness of both genders. She believes that a womanist celebrates being a woman and her cultural way of living and thinking.

Through this movement, she brought awareness in women, particularly Black women, about sexual explicit gender bias at economic and political levels. 'In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose's' (1983) collection resembles thorough insights about womanist thoughts.

'The Third Life of Grange Copeland' was her first novel in 1970, it is the pitiful life of a rural Black family who becomes victims of violence and struggles because of economic dependency. Her novel 'Meridian' (1976) portrays a young social activist.

Apart from Pulitzer Prize, she received many other awards such as the O. Henry Award for Kindred Spirits, named by the American Humanist Association as Humanist of the Year(1997), Domestic Human Rights Award from Global Exchange(2007), honorary degrees, National Book Award for Fiction in1983, and various fellowships.

In 2003 Alice walker was arrested for protesting outside the White House, a rally against the war. She raised her voice on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, formed a group named Code Pink, and traveled to Gaza and some other female activists.

She refused to translate The Color Purple in Hebrew as she believes that Israel is an apartheid state.

Facts About Alice Walker's Writings

Alice walker is an African Black woman with independent thoughts and is very intense in expressing her emotions to the real world. Through her writings, fiction, essays, and poetry, she always emphasizes women's issues based on race and gender. Her writings give great insights into African American culture.

While participating in civil rights movements, she started publishing short stories and essays. Walker published her first book of poetry, 'Hope', in 1968; 'The Third Life of Grange Copeland' (1970) is her first novel.

In 1973 one more set of poems named 'Evolutionarily Petunias and Other Poems' and a short story collection named 'In Love and Trouble: Stories of Black Woman' was published. This collection of short stories depicts the accurate picture of the African American women facing and the violence and abuse they are undergoing.

'Meridian' (1976) is a novel based on the life of civil rights workers during the 1960 s period. After shifting into California, she became famous through a popular novel, 'The Color Purple' (1982).

It is a famous fictional-based novel, and Alice Walker won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and National Book Award for Fiction. Based on this, novel movies and musical alums are also released. The story revolves around the character Celie an African American.

A 14-year-old ugly-looking girl becomes a victim of her father's and her husband's ill, abusive, and physical treatment. The novel ends on how Celie becomes independent and confident and becomes successful in her life.

Other writings include 'Possessing the Secret of Joy' (1992), 'The Temple of My Familiar', 'Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart' (2005), 'By the Light of My Father’s Smile' (1998), 'Finding the Green Stone' (1991), and many more.

The popular among her poetry are 'A Poem Traveled Down My Arm' (2003), 'Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart' (2018), 'Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth' (2003). 'Her Blue Body Everything We Know: Earthling Poems' (1991) is the volume of her poetry works from 1965-1990.

Her other popular essay after the world trade tower explosion is, 'Sent by Earth: A Message from the Grandmother Spirit;.

Facts About Alice Walker's Education

Both Alice Walker's parents, Willie Lee Walker and Minnie Tallulah Grant Walker, were sharecroppers on the cotton farm. Recognizing her interest in reading and writing, her mother gifted her a typewriter instead of forcing her to do daily household chores. Alice Walker was the youngest of eight children, and she had been a bright student since childhood.

Her mother was amused to see Walker's talent and interest in education and admitted her to East Putnam Consolidated into first grade at a very young age. In no period, she worked hard and became a valedictorian at Butler-Baker High School.

The school was meant only for black people in Eatonton. During this period, she started writing poetry and essays.

At 17 years of age, she got a scholarship from the state of Georgia for being an excellent performer in academics and attended Spelman College in 1961. Her professors at Spelman College, Staughton Lynd, and Howard Zinn, greatly influenced her and were considered her mentors.

Soon, she received another scholarship to study at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. By 1965, she had graduated from Sarah Lawrence College.

She played an active role as a civil rights activist in Mississippi. During this period, her short stories and essays started to be published.

Later, she earned many awards and recognition and became actively involved in many movements and social causes.