In her first collection of nonfiction, Alice Walker speaks out as a black woman, writer, mother, and feminist, in thirty-six pieces ranging from the personal to the political. Here are essays about Walker's own work and that of other writers, accounts of the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the antinuclear movement of the 1980s, and a vivid, courageous memoir of a scarring childhood injury. Throughout the volume, Walker explores the theories and practices of feminists and feminism, incorporating what she calls the "womanist" tradition of black women.

BIO

Alice Walker won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for her novel The Color Purple. Her other novels include By the Light of My Father's Smile and Possessing the Secret of Joy. She is also the author of three collections of short stories, three collections of essays, seven volumes of poetry, and several children's books. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, Walker now lives in Northern California.

REVIEWS

"This is one of the healthiest collections of essays I have come across in a long time. ...What [Walker] says about the black woman she says from the depths of oppression. What is said from the depths of oppression illuminates all other oppressions." --New Statesman

"Reflects not only the ideas but a life that has . . . breathed color, sound, and soul into fiction and poetry--and into our lives as well." --San Francisco Chronicle

Mariner Books  /   May 17, 2004

1.1" H x 7.8" L x 5.2" W (0.7 lbs) 397 pages