Short Biography

Alice Walker was born in 1944 in Eatontown, Georgia. From a very young age she was a fan of

writing, especially writing poetry. She had a notebook in which she would write stories that her parents recited to her and also poems that she wrote (Atwan 503). When walker was 8 years old, she was playing with her brothers outside. Her brothers were playing with their BB guns and one of them accidentally shot Walker in her right eye. She was blinded in that eye and it was left with white scar tissue. After that event walker became self-conscious and self-critical. (These feelings were the inspiration for her well known essay: “Beauty: When the other Dancer is the Self”). Writing brought Walker comfort from these feelings of worthlessness and loneliness. Walker’s most famous work of literature is The Color Purple, written in 1982, which delves into the struggles of African-American women. The book won the Pulitzer-Prize and has since been adapted into a movie. Walker went to College at Spelman College where she was drawn into the Civil Right Movement and activism ("Alice Walker") She is also known for coining the term “Womanist.” A womanist, she says, is different from a feminist (Hayat). She defined it as “…the opposite of girlish…Being grown up…A Black Feminist or Feminist of Color” (Hayat quot. Walker).

(Picture from Pinterest)

Sources:

Atwan, Robert. "Alice Walker." Ten on Ten: Major Essayists on Recurring Themes: Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1992. 502-507. Print.

"Alice Walker Biography." The Biography.com Website. A&E Networks Television, 6, Feb. 2015. Web. 12 Nov. 2016.

Hayat, Fatema. "What is a Womanist?" The Progress. Wordpress, 4 Mar. 2014. Web. 13 Oct.