Alice Walker

From National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker and edited by critic and writer Valerie Boyd, comes an unprecedented compilation of Walker's fifty years of journals drawing an intimate portrait of her development over five decades as an artist, human rights and women's activist, and intellectual. For the first time, the edited journals of Alice Walker are gathered together to reflect the complex, passionate, talented, and acclaimed Pulitzer Prize winner of The Color Purple. She intimately explores her thoughts and feelings as a woman, a writer, an African-American, a wife, a daughter, a mother, a lover, a sister, a friend, a citizen of the world. In an unvarnished and singular voice, she explores an astonishing array of events: marching in Mississippi with other foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr.; her marriage to a Jewish lawyer, defying laws that barred interracial marriage in the 1960s South; an early miscarriage; writing her first novel; the trials and triumphs of the Women's Movement; erotic encounters and enduring relationships; the ancestral visits that led her to write The Color Purple; winning the Pulitzer Prize; being admired and maligned, sometimes in equal measure, for her work and her activism; and burying her mother. A powerful blend of Walker's personal life with political events, this revealing collection offers rare insight into a literary legend.

Read the original inspiration for the new, boldly reimagined film from producers Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, starring Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, and Fantasia Barrino. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, now in a beautiful Penguin Vitae edition with a foreword by Kiese Laymon A Penguin Classic Hardcover Celebrating its fortieth anniversary, The Color Purple writes a message of healing, forgiveness, self-discovery, and sisterhood to a new generation of readers. An inspiration to authors who continue to give voice to the multidimensionality of Black women's stories, including Tayari Jones, Honor e Fanonne Jeffers, Jesmyn Ward, and more, The Color Purple remains an essential read in conversation with storytellers today. A powerful cultural touchstone of modern American literature, The Color Purple depicts the lives of African American women in early-twentieth-century rural Georgia. Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance, and silence. Through a series of letters spanning nearly thirty years, first from Celie to God, then from the sisters to each other, the novel draws readers into a rich and memorable portrayal of Black women--their pain and struggle, companionship and growth, resilience and bravery. Deeply compassionate and beautifully imagined, The Color Purple breaks the silence around domestic and sexual abuse, and carries readers on an epic and spirit-affirming journey toward transformation, redemption, and love.

Sweet People Are Everywhere, an illustrated picture book featuring a poem by internationally renowned writer and activist Alice Walker, is a powerful celebration of humanity. The poem addresses a young boy getting his first passport, taking the boy--and the reader--on a journey through a series of countries around the globe where "sweet people" can be found. They are all over the globe. Sweet people can be found from Canada to Congo to Cuba, from Afghanistan to Australia, from Ireland to Iraq...there are sweet people in the thirty-seven places listed in these pages and almost everywhere else on the planet. Take a trip through the lines of this large-hearted poem by Alice Walker and meet some of them An ode to humanity, Walker's heartening message is celebrated through Quim Torres' deeply felt illustrations.

'My life suddenly made sense when I encountered Alice Walker's fiction' Tayari Jones'Remarkable' New York TimesMeridian Hill, the brilliant and inquisitive daughter of a working-class Black family in the American south, comes of age against the turbulent backdrop of the 1960s civil rights movement. Life starts out hard - at seventeen, she finds herself married with a child and denied an education because of it. But Meridian is passionate and resolute, determined to improve the lives of those around her, even in the face of oppression and uncertainty, heartbreak and failing health. And amid the chaos of social upheaval, Meridian discovers who she is - a woman capable of great courage, resilience and hope. Charting the story of the civil rights movement through one woman's struggle, Meridian is a powerful meditation on community, womanhood and self-discovery from the Pulitzer-prize winning author of The Color Purple.

En stor amerikansk klassiker:Celia skriver brev till Gud. Hon är 14 år, och hennes far misshandlar och våldtar henne. I det tidiga 1900-talets amerikanska sydstater står svarta kvinnor lägst i varje rangordning. Celia har redan fått ett barn, som fadern tagit ifrån henne. När hon är gravid med sitt andra blir hon bortgift mot sin vilja, och hennes mor förbannar henne på sin dödsbädd. Även för systern Nellie väntar ett liv med fattigdom, rasism och manligt våld, men hon försvinner, och de två kommer att vara åtskilda i trettio år. Purpurfärgen är en stor amerikansk roman, som redan vid utgivningen hyllades och ifrågasattes. Det kvinnliga perspektivet lade ytterligare dimensioner till skildringen av rasistiskt förtryck i USA, och romanens många starka kvinnoporträtt har gjort den älskad och läst av ständigt nya generationer - en modern klassiker som kastar skoningslöst ljus över en våldsam historia och ett våldsamt land. I översättning av Kerstin Hallén och med ett nyskrivet förord av författaren Balsam Karam. ALICE WALKER, född i Georgia 1944, är en amerikansk författare och aktivist. Purpurfärgen, hennes mest kända roman, belönades med både Pulitzerpriset och National Book Award 1983 och filmatiserades 1986.

Celie vokser opp under fattige kår på landsbygda i Georgia på begynnelsen av 1900-tallet. Etter en vanskelig barndom blir hun giftet bort i en alder av bare 14 år. Ektemannen nekter å ha Celies søster Nettie boende, og Celie må sende henne fra seg. Fra da av går dagene med til å lure på hvor søsteren er blitt av, og til å skrive brev – til Gud, og til Nettie. I brevene kommer vi tett på Celie og hverdagen hennes med en brutal mann og ustyrlige stebarn, i et samfunn og en tid der en svart kvinne var lite verdt. Og likevel er det nettopp kvinnefellesskapet som blir redningen for henne. Gjennom latter og gråt, hardt arbeid, samhold og klokskap finner kvinnene retning i livet. Og hele tiden skriver Celie til søsteren, som hun nekter å gi slipp på. Purpurfargen er en uforglemmelig fortelling om søsterskap og kampen for egenverd. En historie om å fortsette å tro på noe – Gud, kjærligheten, vennskapet, en selv – også når alt er som mørkest. Boken er solgt i over fem millioner eksemplarer verden over, og førti år etter utgivelsen er den fremdeles like slående relevant.«Den tok pusten fra meg … Purpurfargen endret livet mitt.» Oprah Winfrey«Å lese Purpurfargen var første gang jeg så svart kvinnelitteratur fra sørstatene som verdenslitteratur. Da Alice Walker skrev oss inn i verden – modig, ærlig og uten å unnskylde seg – ga hun oss en gave vi aldri vil kunne betale tilbake.» Tayari Jones«En roman av evigvarende betydning.» Newsweek«En historie om åpenbaring … En av de store bøkene i vår tid.» Essence Magazine«Uutslettelig gripende … Alice Walker er en usedvanlig begavet forfatter.» The New York Times Book Review«Bemerkelsesverdig uttrykksfull, fargerik og gripende.» The New York Review of Books«Enormt stemningsfull. . . en livfull fuge av hengivenhet og kjærlighetssøken.» Los Angeles Herald Examiner«En saga fylt av glede og smerte, humor og bitterhet, og et mangfold av karakterer som lever, puster og lyser opp verden.» Publishers Weekly

* WINNER of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work * Alice Walker, author of the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning The Color Purple, presents a bilingual, playfully imaginative, and intensely moving collection of poetry that addresses "these contentious times but also on life, love, hope, and gratitude...it's just what our literary souls were aching for" (Marie Claire). Presented in both English and Spanish, Alice Walker shares a "moving and timely" (Vanity Fair) collection of nearly seventy works of passionate and powerful poetry that bears witness to our troubled times, while also chronicling a life well-lived. From poems of painful self-inquiry, to celebrating the simple beauty of baking frittatas, Walker offers us a window into her magical, at times difficult, and liberating world of activism, love, hope and, above all, gratitude. Whether she's urging us to preserve an urban paradise or behold the delicate necessity of beauty to the spirit, Walker encourages us to honor the divine that lives inside all of us and brings her legendary free verse to the page once again, demonstrating that she remains a revolutionary poet and an inspiration to generations of fans.

Abducted from Africa, sold in America. “A deeply affecting record of an extraordinary life”- Daily Telegraph A major literary event: a newly published work from the author of the American classic Their Eyes Were Watching God, with a foreword from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker. The true story of one of the last-known survivors of the Atlantic slave trade. In August 1931, famed anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston travelled to Alabama to visit ninety-year-old Cudjo Lewis, a former slave. Over three months, Cudjo shared heart-rending memories of his childhood in Africa; the horrors of being captured – fifty years after slavery was outlawed – and held in the Ouidah barracoons for selection by American slavers; the harrowing ordeal of the Middle Passage aboard the Clotilda with over one hundred other souls; and the years he spent in slavery. Barracoon brings to life Cudjo’s singular voice in an invaluable contribution to history and culture, a work as poignant as it is profound.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Alice Walker's iconic modern classic is now a Penguin Book. A powerful cultural touchstone of modern American literature, The Color Purple depicts the lives of African American women in early twentieth-century rural Georgia. Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance and silence. Through a series of letters spanning twenty years, first from Celie to God, then the sisters to each other despite the unknown, the novel draws readers into its rich and memorable portrayals of Celie, Nettie, Shug Avery and Sofia and their experience. The Color Purple broke the silence around domestic and sexual abuse, narrating the lives of women through their pain and struggle, companionship and growth, resilience and bravery. Deeply compassionate and beautifully imagined, Alice Walker's epic carries readers on a spirit-affirming journey towards redemption and love.

Read the original inspiration for the new, boldly reimagined film from producers Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, starring Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, and Fantasia Barrino. Celebrating its fortieth anniversary, The Color Purple writes a message of healing, forgiveness, self-discovery, and sisterhood to a new generation of readers. An inspiration to authors who continue to give voice to the multidimensionality of Black women's stories, including Tayari Jones, Honor e Fanonne Jeffers, Jesmyn Ward, and more, The Color Purple remains an essential read in conversation with storytellers today. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award A powerful cultural touchstone of modern American literature, The Color Purple depicts the lives of African American women in early-twentieth-century rural Georgia. Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance, and silence. Through a series of letters spanning nearly thirty years, first from Celie to God, then from the sisters to each other, the novel draws readers into a rich and memorable portrayal of Black women--their pain and struggle, companionship and growth, resilience and bravery. Deeply compassionate and beautifully imagined, The Color Purple breaks the silence around domestic and sexual abuse, and carries readers on an epic and spirit-affirming journey toward transformation, redemption, and love. "Reading The Color Purple was the first time I had seen Southern, Black women's literature as world literature. In writing us into the world--bravely, unapologetically, and honestly--Alice Walker has given us a gift we will never be able to repay." --Tayari Jones "The Color Purple was what church should have been, what honest familial reckoning could have been, and it is still the only art object in the world by which all three generations of Black artists in my family judge American art." --Kiese Laymon

This semi-autobiographical account of an early twentieth century activist recounts growing up in rural poverty in farming settlements and mining towns; discovering the double standards of race and sex among East Coast intellectuals; facing false espionage charges; and maintaining independence through two tormented marriages. Groundbreaking in its portrayal of sexism within the socialist movement, Daughter of Earth was uniquely prescient in its intersectional exploration of oppression, and endures as a necessary text for progressive social movements today.

The Hachette Essentials edition of the classic, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that made Alice Walker a household name. 'One of the greatest books of all time' Benjamin Zephaniah

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, this novel about a resilient and courageous woman has become a Broadway show and a cultural phenomenon. A PBS Great American Read Top 100 PickCelie has grown up poor in rural Georgia, despised by the society around her and abused by her own family. She strives to protect her sister, Nettie, from a similar fate, and while Nettie escapes to a new life as a missionary in Africa, Celie is left behind without her best friend and confidante, married off to an older suitor, and sentenced to a life alone with a harsh and brutal husband. In an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear, Celie begins writing letters directly to God. The letters, spanning 20 years, record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment guided by the light of a few strong women. She meets Shug Avery, her husband's mistress and a jazz singer with a zest for life, and her stepson's wife, Sophia, who challenges her to fight for independence. And though the many letters from Celie's sister are hidden by her husband, Nettie's unwavering support will prove to be the most breathtaking of allThe Color Purple has sold more than five million copies, inspired an Academy Award-nominated film starring Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey and directed by Steven Spielberg, and been adapted into a Tony-nominated Broadway musical. Lauded as a literary masterpiece, this is the groundbreaking novel that placed Walker "in the company of Faulkner" (The Nation) and remains a wrenching - yet intensely uplifting - experience for new generations of listeners.

Alice Walker, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning modern classic, The Color Purple, returns with a poetry collection that is both playfully imaginative and intensely moving. In Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart, Alice Walker examines our troubled times, while also chronicling a life well-lived. From poems of painful self-inquiry, to celebrating the simple beauty of everyday life, Walker offers us a window into her magical, at times difficult, and liberating world of activism, love, hope and, above all, gratitude. Whether she's urging us to preserve an urban paradise or behold exploring the necessity of beauty to the spirit, Walker demonstrates that she remains a revolutionary poet and an inspiration to generations of fans.

* WINNER of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work * Alice Walker, author of the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning The Color Purple--"an American novel of permanent importance" (San Francisco Chronicle)--crafts a bilingual collection that is both playfully imaginative and intensely moving. Presented in both English and Spanish, Alice Walker shares a timely collection of nearly seventy works of passionate and powerful poetry that bears witness to our troubled times, while also chronicling a life well-lived. From poems of painful self-inquiry, to celebrating the simple beauty of baking frittatas, Walker offers us a window into her magical, at times difficult, and liberating world of activism, love, hope and, above all, gratitude. Whether she's urging us to preserve an urban paradise or behold the delicate necessity of beauty to the spirit, Walker encourages us to honor the divine that lives inside all of us and brings her legendary free verse to the page once again, demonstrating that she remains a revolutionary poet and an inspiration to generations of fans.

In the 1960s, students of Spelman College, a black liberal arts college for women, were drawn into historic civil rights protests occurring across Atlanta, leading to the arrest of some for participating in sit-ins in the local community. A young Howard Zinn (future author of the worldwide best seller A People’s History of the United States) was a professor of history at Spelman during this era and served as an adviser to the Atlanta sit-in movement and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Zinn mentored many of Spelman’s students fighting for civil rights at the time, including Alice Walker and Marian Wright Edelman. As a key facilitator of the Spelman student movement, Zinn supported students who challenged and criticized the campus’s paternalistic social restrictions, even when this led to conflicts with the Spelman administration. Zinn’s involvement with the Atlanta student movement and his closeness to Spelman’s leading student and faculty activists gave him an insider’s view of that movement and of the political and intellectual world of Spelman, Atlanta University, and the SNCC. Robert Cohen presents a thorough historical overview as well as an entrée to Zinn’s diary. One of the most extensive records of the political climate on a historically black college in 1960s America, Zinn’s diary offers an in-depth view. It is a fascinating historical document of the free speech, academic freedom, and student rights battles that rocked Spelman and led to Zinn’s dismissal from the college in 1963 for supporting the student movement.

In the 1960s, students of Spelman College, a black liberal arts college for women, were drawn into historic civil rights protests occurring across Atlanta, leading to the arrest of some for participating in sit-ins in the local community. A young Howard Zinn (future author of the worldwide best seller A People’s History of the United States) was a professor of history at Spelman during this era and served as an adviser to the Atlanta sit-in movement and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Zinn mentored many of Spelman’s students fighting for civil rights at the time, including Alice Walker and Marian Wright Edelman. As a key facilitator of the Spelman student movement, Zinn supported students who challenged and criticized the campus’s paternalistic social restrictions, even when this led to conflicts with the Spelman administration. Zinn’s involvement with the Atlanta student movement and his closeness to Spelman’s leading student and faculty activists gave him an insider’s view of that movement and of the political and intellectual world of Spelman, Atlanta University, and the SNCC. Robert Cohen presents a thorough historical overview as well as an entrée to Zinn’s diary. One of the most extensive records of the political climate on a historically black college in 1960s America, Zinn’s diary offers an in-depth view. It is a fascinating historical document of the free speech, academic freedom, and student rights battles that rocked Spelman and led to Zinn’s dismissal from the college in 1963 for supporting the student movement.

This is a visual memoir of Alice Walker's remarkable life as a novelist, essayist, poet and activist in candid photographs, manuscript drafts - including handwritten drafts of The Color Purple - letters and other selections from the personal archive she started keeping when she was 14. These records are framed by an intimate first-person narrative that will make readers feel as though they are having a cup of tea with the Pulitzer Prize-winning author as she shares - in her own unguarded, opinionated and singular voice - the story behind each letter, document and snapshot. Escorting readers on a fascinating journey through five decades of American social history, this literary scrapbook captures important public and private moments from an illustrious and inimitable life.