Alice Walker
Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1944, in Eatonton, Georgia. She worked as a social worker, teacher and lecturer, and took part in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. Walker accomplished the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her 1982 novel, The Color Purple, and is also an much-admired poet and essayist.
Alice Walker is one of the greatest respected African-American writers in work today. The youngest daughter of sharecroppers, she was raised up poor. Her mother worked as a maid to help support the family's 8 children. When she was 8 years old, she suffered a serious injury: She was gunshot in the right eye with a BB pellet while playing with two of her brothers. White scar tissue formed in her damaged eye, and she became uncomfortable of this noticeable spot.
After the happening, Walker basically pulled out from the world around her. "For a long time, I thought I was very ugly and disfigured," she told John O'Brien in an interview that was printed in Alice Walker: Critical Perspectives, Past and Present. "This made me shy and timid, and I often reacted to insults and slights that were not intended." She found solace in reading and writing poetry.
Living in the culturally divided South, Walker joined separated schools. She graduated from her high school as the valedictorian of her class. With the assistance of a scholarship, she was able to go to Spelman College in Atlanta. She later substituted to Sarah Lawrence College in New York City. While at Sarah Lawrence, Walker had a visit in Africa as part of a study-abroad program. She graduated in 1965—the same year that she issued her first short story.
Afterwards college, Walker worked as a social worker, teacher and lecturer. She became active in the Civil Rights Movement, protesting for equivalence for all African Americans. Her involvements educated her first collection of poetry, Once, which was published in 1968. Well known now as a novelist, Walker presented her talents for storytelling in her debut work, Third Life of Grange Copeland (1970). Walker continued to discover writing in all of its procedures. In 1973, she published a set of short stories, In Love and Trouble; the poetry collection Revolutionary Petunias; and her first children's book,Langston Hughes: American Poet. She also appeared as a prominent voice in the black feminist movement.
Alice Walker is one of the greatest respected African-American writers in work today. The youngest daughter of sharecroppers, she was raised up poor. Her mother worked as a maid to help support the family's 8 children. When she was 8 years old, she suffered a serious injury: She was gunshot in the right eye with a BB pellet while playing with two of her brothers. White scar tissue formed in her damaged eye, and she became uncomfortable of this noticeable spot.
After the happening, Walker basically pulled out from the world around her. "For a long time, I thought I was very ugly and disfigured," she told John O'Brien in an interview that was printed in Alice Walker: Critical Perspectives, Past and Present. "This made me shy and timid, and I often reacted to insults and slights that were not intended." She found solace in reading and writing poetry.
Living in the culturally divided South, Walker joined separated schools. She graduated from her high school as the valedictorian of her class. With the assistance of a scholarship, she was able to go to Spelman College in Atlanta. She later substituted to Sarah Lawrence College in New York City. While at Sarah Lawrence, Walker had a visit in Africa as part of a study-abroad program. She graduated in 1965—the same year that she issued her first short story.
Afterwards college, Walker worked as a social worker, teacher and lecturer. She became active in the Civil Rights Movement, protesting for equivalence for all African Americans. Her involvements educated her first collection of poetry, Once, which was published in 1968. Well known now as a novelist, Walker presented her talents for storytelling in her debut work, Third Life of Grange Copeland (1970). Walker continued to discover writing in all of its procedures. In 1973, she published a set of short stories, In Love and Trouble; the poetry collection Revolutionary Petunias; and her first children's book,Langston Hughes: American Poet. She also appeared as a prominent voice in the black feminist movement.