Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

She Has A Way With Words....
I was literally sitting two feet away from Alice Walker ( a small woman who carries herself with great pride) when she read poems from this book.To say that her poems were transformative is putting it mildly...I especially loved her poem about "Relatives" - telling us to not think poorly of them, but just imagine that we are from different stars!Although she did stick around to personally autograph books, I did buy her book (full price) just to have a book penned by one of our most distinguished and talented authors.Forget about rock or sports stars - my heroes are writers!

Moving, Peaceful, Beautiful Poems
I recently had the distinct pleasure of hearing Alice Walker read from this her latest collection of nearly fifty poems HARD TIMES REQUIRE FURIOUS DANCING gorgeously illustrated by Shiloh McCloud. She is a consummate example of why poetry should be read aloud and by the author if at all possible.

There are so many moving, beautiful poems included here. They require not explication but rather reading and enjoying. One hardly knows where to start. She pays tribute to cows, their sacredness and their dilemma in "La Vaga." She remembers her black Lab in "My Teacher." "The World Has Changed" I believe she wrote in honor of President Obama. She in the poem "Sixty-five" cannot believe that she is this old-- talk about a poem being universal--

Sixty-five!
who can
believe it.

In "We Pay A Visit to Those Who Play At Being Dead" she reminds us that we become our parents as we age:

My mother
for instance
whose
cheekbones
greet me
from
a
recent
photograph
of myself.

Ms. Walker has written two instructive poems on the destructiveness and futility on hatred in "Watching You Hold Your Hatred" (Watching you/hold/your/hatred/for such a long time/I wonder:/Isn't it/slippery?/Might you/not/someday/drop it/on/yourself?) and "The Taste of Grudge": ("What a waste/ is any kind/of/grudge.")

"Word Has Reached Me" is a poignant poem to her dying sister as Ms. Walker seeks to make peace with her and prays that she will let go and die in peace as well:

Praying,later,
I sent word
to you that both our parents
are waiting
--all, whatever it was
that rankled--
is now
& forevermore
forgiven:
Grandpa & Grandma
are waiting too.

My favorite-- difficult as it is to pick-- if "Rich," in which the poet is content with simple pleasures:

It takes
so little
to make me happy:
An hour
of planting
cucumbers
squash
tomatoes
is
an
hour
filled
with
gold.

In an interview that Ms. Walker gave in 1973 she said that unlike her prose and fiction, that her poetry comes out of great sorrow. On the other hand she said recently that as she gets older, she becomes happier. These poems-- most of them-- are peaceful, almost elegiac. Whether they come from great pain I do not know but they convince me that she is a happy person.

Shake the blues right outta you!
Like soup the day after, allowed to steep in their wise flavors, are her words; their taste enhanced by time. Renowned for such prolific works as //The Color Purple// and countless collections of poetry, essays, and fiction, along with a steadfast role in human rights activism, Alice Walker bestows her readers with steep depths of grief and soaring heights of gratitude in her newest collection of poetry, //Hard Times Require Furious Dancing//. In it, she releases emotions experienced by all and in this we are connected through the pain and loss, reconciliation and restoration, love and longing; she breaks her own heart open and shows us inside.

Amongst the sorrow, there is newness; a light spilling over from the awareness and thanksgiving for this gift we have been given in life. Her form is simple, yet complex, easy to let in, but not quite so easy to let out. Her words stay with us, flowing from the page and leaking into our beings, "The world has changed:/Don't let/yourself/remain/asleep/to/it."She does not simply lament the lost but welcomes the way that is now, coming to terms with a lightness of being. The words sing hushes of lullaby while we sway to the truths of their rhythms.

Reviewed by Sky Sanchez ... Read more

Product Description
The New York Times-bestselling book of spiritual ruminations with a progressive political edge from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

A New York Times bestseller in hardcover, Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker's We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For was called "stunningly insightful" and "a book that will inspire hope" by Publishers Weekly.

Drawing equally on Walker's spiritual grounding and her progressive political convictions, each chapter concludes with a recommended meditation to teach us patience, compassion, and forgiveness. We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For takes on some of the greatest challenges of our times and in it Walker encourages readers to take faith in the fact that, despite the daunting predicaments we find ourselves in, we are uniquely prepared to create positive change.

The hardcover edition of We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For included a national tour that saw standing-room-only crowds and standing ovations. Walker's clear vision and calm meditative voice—truly "a light in darkness"—has struck a deep chord among a large and devoted readership. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Simply Amazing!
A must read - period.Funny, thought provoking, insightful, upsetting, and educational are just a few words that I can use to describe this book.Enjoy!

We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For
This is one of the best books I have read in a long time.Since it is a compilation of short stories, it's nice to take with me and read a complete story or two.I have recommended this book to many people.It's right on with the times and in many ways is very revealing about the history and feelings of our black citizens.

Very talented writer
Alice Walker is a wonderful writer.I heard her reading from this book (on a video made) at Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC, a day before the Obama inauguration, and ordered the book from Amazon.com that day. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Yes!
Fabulous book!--very thin book but loaded with mind-blowing information.It has empowered me to be speak out on difficult issues that need our attention! This is worth so much to me personally and also gives me a vision for a better humanity as more of us take Alice's lead! ... Read more

Product Description
A beautifully packaged book of spiritual ruminations with a progressive political edge, from the incomparable Pulitzer Prize-winner—a woman who has devoted her life to befriending the earth.

From the Introduction: "In fact, the happiness that imbues this kind of (impersonal) friendship, whether for an individual or a country, or an act, is like an inner light, a compass we might steer by as we set out across the lengthening darkness. It comes from the simple belief that what one is feeling and doing is right. That it is right to protect rather than terrorize others; right to feed people rather than withhold food (and medicine); right to want the freedom and joyful existence of all human kind. Right to want this freedom and joy for all creatures that exist already, or that might come into existence. Existence, we are now learning, is not finished! It is a happiness that comes from honoring the peace or the possibility of peace that lives within one's own heart. A deep knowing that we are the earth—our separation from Earth perhaps our greatest illusion—and that we stand, with gratitude and love, by our planetary Self.

Author of the perennially bestselling novel The Color Purple, Alice Walker has long been a force for sanity in a chaotic world. In We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For she draws on her deep spiritual grounding, her political conviction and experience, and her literary gifts to offer a series of meditations filled with wisdom, hope, encouragement, and, at times, serenity to a world in need of all these things. The perfect gift for Alice Walker fans and anyone who longs for peace, on earth and within, this lovely volume will be embraced for its wise insights and mature compassion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

All Praises to the Pause
Many of the essays in this book are even more relevant today. Unfortunately we haven't made much progress, except we did elect Barack Obama.

I loved the essay "All Praises to The Pause; The Universal Moment of Reflection". It speaks to honoring the effort spent on a difficult project or life event, stepping back and allowing your mind and body to re-group.
"What it (the I Ching) is referring to in this hexagram is something that I am going to call 'the pause'. The moment when something major is accomplished and we are so relieved to finally be done with it that we are already rushing, at least mentally, into The Future. Wisdom, however, requests a pause. If we cannot give ourselves such a pause, the Universe will likely give it to us. In the form of illness, .....in the form of our car breaking down, our roof starting to leak, our garden starting to dry up. Our government collapsing. And we find ourselves required to stop, to sit down, to reflect. This is the time or 'the pause', the universal place of stopping. The universal moment of reflection."

Maybe this is that Time of Pause. But soon we need to stand up and join our President's call to action.

Reviewing "The Reviewer"
Funny thing - "officialdom;" almost as funny as the artless science that apparently now best describes reviews.

For if I had not already been privileged - as a longtime reader of Alice Walker's works, to be fully convinced of her intrinsic Human Value and Literary Worth as a generously-gifted, and unconventionally-creative author, I certainly would not have been encouraged to purchase her latest works based solely upon the two "official" reviews logged on this site.

All I can say, therefore is Thank Goodness for the actual READER-REVIEWS!Thoughtful essays which - oddly enough, appear enthused and awed, where the "official" reviews come over as jaded and condescendingly critical.

Packed with inspiration
I bought this for my sister but read the first half of the book before giving it to her.Now I need my own copy!Alice Walker is always uplifting and full of wisdom.

Inspirational and Uplifting
A friend of mine gave me this book and I read it in 2 days. Loved it!I find that Alice Walker can share some of the most horrendous stories that have been done to her people, and yet, I as the reader, come away, feeling as though there is still hope for us as human beings, and most of all hope for myself in becoming the best
that I can be.So appreciate her gifted writing.
Sherri Rosen Publicity, NYC

May not rock your world, but may light your path.
I purchased this after hearing an on-air interview of Alice Walker by Amy Goodman on Pacifica Radio and enjoyed the journey through these essays.I encourage those intrigued by the title to take the plunge and buy it.We are the ones we have been waiting for, and it is helpful at times to have someone light the way in a time of darkness. ... Read more

Product Description
Alice Walker's early story "Everyday Use" has remained a cornerstone of her work. Her use of quilting as a metaphor for the creative legacy that African Americans inherited from their maternal ancestors changed the way we defined art, women's culture, and African American lives. By putting African American women's voices at the center of the narrative for the first time, "Everyday Use" anticipated the focus of an entire generation of black women writers. This casebook includes an introduction by the editor, a chronology of Walker's life, authoritative texts of "Everyday Use" and "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens," an interview with Walker, six critical essays, and a bibliography. The contributors are Charlotte Pierce-Baker, Houston A. Baker Jr., Thadious M. Davis, Margot Anne Kelley, John O'Brien, Elaine Showalter, and Mary Helen Washington. Barbara T. Christian is a professor of African American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Walker's best short story
Everyday Use (Women Writers)

Walker's iconic short story about our changing times. I use this in several of the courses I teach. Each class ends up arguing over who is right.

Black Identity Crisis and Conflict in "Everyday Use"
This is a story, set in the rural American south, family house in a pasture, in which an African-American mother, "Mama Johnson," who grew up in the early part of the past century, struggles to absorb, understand, evaluate and appreciate the ramifications of her strongly bucolic and dirty background in comparison with a daughter (Dee) who had obtained an impressive advanced formal education in Augusta in Georgia and migrated to work in an urban environment. Mama, in several ways, views her other daughter, Maggie, who is in the comparison, as the less fortunate one. Her ungenerous appearance partly stems from a house fire that left her with severe burns from which conspicuous scars remain. In Mama's words: "Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him? That is the way my Maggie walks. She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to the ground. Dee is lighter-skinned than Maggie, has nicer hair and a fuller figure." The story begins with Mama and Maggie awaiting the visit of Dee. Despite Dee's being a direct blood relative, the two went to great lengths, the previous afternoon to make the yard, "so clean and wavy." This is a moving short story that illustrates the conflicts between formal education, rural tradition, urban modernism, culture, individualism, egocentricism, community, cooperation, family relationships, esthetic appearances, capitalism, morality, abandonment, transformation, opportunism, intimidation, oppression, and emancipation. The story illustrates a common American scene, more so in the African-American context.

It was realized, early, in life that Dee was the significantly brilliant and ambitious one of the two daughters, she longed for the modern advanced setting; in Mama's words, "She use to read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks' habits, whole lives upon us, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice. She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn't necessarily need to know." She was outspoken and unabashed, loved to dress well and display her beauty, "Dee wanted nice things." Mama, a woman whose formal school education was shut down in 1927 right after she had achieved a second grade education, apparently embraces her daughter's brilliance and ambitiousness by raising money, with the help of their church to send her to school in Augusta. Mama and Maggie, must have, on one hand, been eager to see Dee leave the home habitation, at least for sometime. The aura in the story, of her boldness, ambitiousness, and zeal for sophistication and achievement making people uneasy while struck with awe, is very powerful. Dee was a young lady of beauty and sophisticated language; Mama tells Maggie that she knows of some childhood friends that Dee had. To Mama, such friends were mostly mysterious, grim-faced, and they often seemed to be in a Dee-induced trance...astounded by her knowledge, bombastic articulation, and beauty. Mama says, "She [Dee] had a few [friends]. ...Furtive boys... Nervous girls who never laughed. Impressed with her they worshipped the well-turned phrase, the cute shape, the scalding humor that erupted like bubbles in lye." The author, Alice, Walker does not mention the father or fathers of Dee and Maggie, although she is strong on mentioning her, "rough man-working hands." It is hence safe to presume that Mama is a single mother. Walker would also lead us to wonder about the relationship between the two sisters. Mama, in the piece of writing, concentrates on these two so much that it is likely that these were her only children. Dee apparently has a certain level of fondness for her less fortunate sister, but that seems to be overshadowed by her superiority complex, by her looking down upon Maggie because Maggie does not measure up to her esthetic and intellectual attributes as well as world view. Dee is quite outward looking and ambitious. Maggie is quite the opposite...burned, bruised, poor sighted, ungainly in appearance, abashed to the extent of often hiding in corners and wanting to bury her head in the sand. At some point in the text, Mama says of Maggie, "...she stops and tries to dig a well in the sand with her toe," giving us the impression that she sometimes wished that the world would swallow her. The fire that burned and handicapped Maggie, undoubtedly contributed to her stultified development and reservedness. But it is not clear whether the bullying attitude of her older sister Dee also contributed to this. We must remember that Dee did read to her sister and mother, indicative of her desire for these blood relatives to become of higher social level and esteem. Mama talks of Maggie, "Sometimes Maggie reads to me. She stumbles along good-naturedly but can't see well. She knows she is not bright." The author also makes us curious about the house fire that scarred Maggie. Mama emphasizes that Dee hated the house and seemed to rejoice in it's burning down. This would raise suspicion that Dee had something to do with the fire. But hardly anything about how the fire was started is mentioned.

As Mama and Maggie await Dee's arrival, Mama imagines what it would be like for her to be introduced alongside an imagined celebrity Dee in a Johnny Carson-like high audience show, a situation in which she would get to travel in a luxurious limousine. She knows it is mostly a dream, and she knows that there is some pretence and vanity in such shows, much of it scripted. Mama opines that in the TV spotlight, it is people of such attributes as slender build ("hundred pounds lighter" than she is) and fair-skin ("like an uncooked barley pancake") that are preferred. She displays unappreciation for staring straight into a ("white") stranger's eyes, and she was raised to be wary of whites. She marvels that Dee can look anyone in the eye, without hesitation. It is indeed a new generation of blacks, and more are coming. Mama knows that TV leaves out a lot of reality. She is a good example of reality, and she is proud of her bucolic strength: "In real life I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. ...I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man." Unlike this era, such comparisons between masculine and feminine strength seem to have been quite common.

The visit, by Dee, to such close blood relatives that she had not seen for years, is notably short. Mama and an intimidated Maggie are astounded by the glamorous, brilliant, luxurious attire and jewelry on Dee. They are also awe-struck by the appearance of her, "short, stocky," companion from the other side of the car. Dee starts by uttering, "Wa-su-zo.Tean-o." Although, nothing further is mentioned about those words, some, with some knowledge of African languages would know that it stands for, "Wasuze otya nno?," 'How was your night,' in the Luganda east African language. The man starts with the Arabic-Islam greeting, "Asalamalakim," which Mama, at first, thinks is his name. Dee says she is no longer Dee, but now goes by the African names, "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo." No explanation of these African names is offered, aside from Dee's dubious mentioning that they attach her to her indigenous African heritage, and displace names given to her by "oppressors," this in reference to her legacy of slavery. Walker does not tell us that Leewanika is probably a misspelling of the name of southern African King Lewanika who collaborated with the British. Neither does Walker elaborate further on the other names. "Ngero," in Luganda, means "stories" or "tales," "Wangero" meaning, "the one associated with stories/ tales." Kemanjo is probably a misspelling of some African name, or it is not a common African name. Mama gets to learn that "Asalamalakim" is Hakim-a-barber, probably a mishearing of the Arabic Islam names, "Hakim Akbar." All this is quite representative of the movements toward Africanism and black power in the 1960's and 1970's. Many of the quite formally educated, started adopting African and Islamic names, many times they did not know the meaning or histories of these names, and many became misspelt. It was an attempt at Africanization of identity, and embracing of Islam as an alternative religion to Christianity which was often perceived as the religion of oppressors. Indeed, many slavers and their ancestors have been Churchgoers. The paradox here is that the Dees and Hakims of this world are disdainful of their black-African heritage that is closest to them. Compared to the African culture of the Deep South, adopting African names is only a token of African culture. This ambivalence is becomes even more profound as Dee attempts to plunder his family of valuable crafts, such as quilts (put together over ancestral generations) and a churn handed down from previous ancestors. Dee likely wants to keep these valuables, as tokens of her heritage, as souvenirs, displayed in her home. Dee even belittles Maggie who owns some of them, saying she was only capable of putting them to, "Everyday use," and laughingly saying that, "Maggie's brain is like an elephant's." Both Mama's and Maggie get disturbed and angered by Dee's demeanor of disrespect, insulting, selfishness, and aggression. Maggie still wants to give in to Dee, over the quilts that she really wants. An animated Mama, strongly declines and throws the quilts into Maggie's lap. Dee and Akbar leave shortly, soon after Dee implying to Mama that she did not understand the value of heritage and that Maggie should elevate herself out of the southern black rural environment. It is in this last incident that Mama gets to appreciate the strength and value of her younger daughter as against the seemingly foreign brash mannerisms of her older sister.

This story is quite representative of African-American social dynamics and dilemma. Of those who look down upon their past, as well as their less fortunate peers, while looking for fame and fortune in the capitalist world that involves aggressiveness, opportunism, and acquisition of wealth. The rural South is slow, family is important, with traditionalists finding it hard to cope with the extremes of urbanism. Many who leave traditional black culture are ashamed of it, but they still try to hold on to it by keeping cultural artifacts, antiques and souvenirs. Dee delights in seeing their house burn down, yet she comes back to retrieve articles that well could have burned in the same place. She comes to visit with a weird looking man whom she little talks about. But Mama knows exactly the man that Dee will marry. Family, and culture is strong in the rural south; Individualism and ambiguity are strong amongst the black educated elite, who in this pieces are shifting to the culture of "oppressors," though they quite deny that they are doing so. It is a story on black identity crisis, and the place of black culture and values.

Everyday Use puts a spoiled child in her place..
I think this book's imagery is amazing, and really gives you the perfect picture of the characters.Alice Walker did a great job "weaving" this story and showing us different kinds of African Americans and the heritage that is passed down with family traditions and quilts.This is definitely worth a read to all people, African American or not because we all can relate to the emotions the characters feel.This story is about a mother who was always torn between her two daughters and finally learns how to take a stand.Read it and enjoy!

worth 20 min
A nice story about denying a girl who forgot where she came froma blanket. It's worth the 20 minutes it might take to read it if you have NOTHING better to do

Everyday Use
I think this book is very good to learn a lesson about hertiage. Of how you should use your hertiage in everyday use and not just hang and display it to others. ... Read more

Product Description
Anatural evolution from the earlier, much-acclaimed collection In Love
& Trouble, these fourteen provocative and often humorous stories show
women oppressed but not defeated.These are hopeful stories about love,
lust, fame, and cultural thievery, the delight of new lovers, and the
rediscovery of old friends, affirmed even across self-imposed color lines.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Alice Walker has done it again!
Excellent book!A page turner. I've always been a lover of Alice Walkers novels and this book just proves her style of written language gets better each time.

Poignant but perhaps over my head.
In Alice Walkers You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down the emotions and ideas conveyed are far more important and poignant then the stories themselves.Each story is told to teach us about an idea or at least educate us on the emotion involved.The stories are a tool and not primarily an entertainment construct.
From the first story Nineteen Fifty-Five to the last story A Sudden Trip Home in spring we are given a number of concepts and emotions to experience.These emotions run from despair to triumph and the ideas we are taught deal with porn, inequality, gender relationships and far more.At initial glance there does not seem to be a common theme until you look at the obvious.The obvious of course is the female perspective and perhaps as important the African American Woman perspective.
Each story told is from the perspective of African American woman.We are told a story of trauma and trial through the eyes of each of these women.The trials are not always unique.We all deal with trials and we are all human.This is nothing new.What is new, especially for readers other then African American woman, is the viewpoint.The viewpoint of common and uncommon situations from a unique and often unobserved vantage point is striking and piercing.
The woman who wrote the novel wrote it in a raw and biting manner.A man reading this or more concisely a white man reading this is given the opportunity to experience emotions and trials that otherwise would never be possible.Does this mean a white man would understand some of the issues dealt with by the author after reading this book?I do not believe this is the case or even the point of the book.Understanding is not asked for merely awareness.You can ignore what is unknown but once awareness is involved a step has been taken.

Poignant but perhaps over my head.
In Alice Walkers You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down the emotions and ideas conveyed are far more important and poignant then the stories themselves.Each story is told to teach us about an idea or at least educate us on the emotion involved.The stories are a tool and not primarily an entertainment construct.
From the first story Nineteen Fifty-Five to the last story A Sudden Trip Home in spring we are given a number of concepts and emotions to experience.These emotions run from despair to triumph and the ideas we are taught deal with porn, inequality, gender relationships and far more.At initial glance there does not seem to be a common theme until you look at the obvious.The obvious of course is the female perspective and perhaps as important the African American Woman perspective.
Each story told is from the perspective of African American woman.We are told a story of trauma and trial through the eyes of each of these women.The trials are not always unique.We all deal with trials and we are all human.This is nothing new.What is new, especially for readers other then African American woman, is the viewpoint.The viewpoint of common and uncommon situations from a unique and often unobserved vantage point is striking and piercing.
The woman who wrote the novel wrote it in a raw and biting manner.A man reading this or more concisely a white man reading this is given the opportunity to experience emotions and trials that otherwise would never be possible.Does this mean a white man would understand some of the issues dealt with by the author after reading this book?I do not believe this is the case or even the point of the book.Understanding is not asked for merely awareness.You can ignore what is unknown but once awareness is involved a step has been taken.

Poignant but perhaps over my head.
In Alice Walkers You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down the emotions and ideas conveyed are far more important and poignant then the stories themselves.Each story is told to teach us about an idea or at least educate us on the emotion involved.The stories are a tool and not primarily an entertainment construct.
From the first story Nineteen Fifty-Five to the last story A Sudden Trip Home in spring we are given a number of concepts and emotions to experience.These emotions run from despair to triumph and the ideas we are taught deal with porn, inequality, gender relationships and far more.At initial glance there does not seem to be a common theme until you look at the obvious.The obvious of course is the female perspective and perhaps as important the African American Woman perspective.
Each story told is from the perspective of African American woman.We are told a story of trauma and trial through the eyes of each of these women.The trials are not always unique.We all deal with trials and we are all human.This is nothing new.What is new, especially for readers other then African American woman, is the viewpoint.The viewpoint of common and uncommon situations from a unique and often unobserved vantage point is striking and piercing.
The woman who wrote the novel wrote it in a raw and biting manner.A man reading this or more concisely a white man reading this is given the opportunity to experience emotions and trials that otherwise would never be possible.Does this mean a white man would understand some of the issues dealt with by the author after reading this book?I do not believe this is the case or even the point of the book.Understanding is not asked for merely awareness.You can ignore what is unknown but once awareness is involved a step has been taken.

Poignant but perhaps over my head.
In Alice Walkers You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down the emotions and ideas conveyed are far more important and poignant then the stories themselves.Each story is told to teach us about an idea or at least educate us on the emotion involved.The stories are a tool and not primarily an entertainment construct.
From the first story Nineteen Fifty-Five to the last story A Sudden Trip Home in spring we are given a number of concepts and emotions to experience.These emotions run from despair to triumph and the ideas we are taught deal with porn, inequality, gender relationships and far more.At initial glance there does not seem to be a common theme until you look at the obvious.The obvious of course is the female perspective and perhaps as important the African American Woman perspective.
Each story told is from the perspective of African American woman.We are told a story of trauma and trial through the eyes of each of these women.The trials are not always unique.We all deal with trials and we are all human.This is nothing new.What is new, especially for readers other then African American woman, is the viewpoint.The viewpoint of common and uncommon situations from a unique and often unobserved vantage point is striking and piercing.
The woman who wrote the novel wrote it in a raw and biting manner.A man reading this or more concisely a white man reading this is given the opportunity to experience emotions and trials that otherwise would never be possible.Does this mean a white man would understand some of the issues dealt with by the author after reading this book?I do not believe this is the case or even the point of the book.Understanding is not asked for merely awareness.You can ignore what is unknown but once awareness is involved a step has been taken. ... Read more

Product Description
The stunning New York Times bestseller, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple, reissued in a handsome new edition.

From the author the New York Times Book Review calls "a lavishly gifted writer," this is the searing story of Tashi, a tribal African woman first glimpsed in The Color Purple whose fateful decision to submit to the tsunga's knife and be genitally mutilated leads to a trauma that informs her life and fatefully alters her existence.

Possessing the Secret of Joy, out of print for a number of years, was the first novel to deal with this controversial topic and managed to do so in a manner that Cosmopolitan called "masterful, honorable, and unforgettable storytelling." The New Press is proud to bring the book back into print with a new preface by the author addressing the book's initial reception and the changed attitudes toward female genital mutilation that have come about in part because of this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (57)

The Pain and Joy of Being a Woman
In many ways this novel, Possessing The Secret of Joy, is true. It is indeed incredible and memorable and necessary. For all of my years I did not know about the circumcision of women. It is an African tradition much like the Chinese tradition of foot binding. The woman's body is manipulated to pleasure a man or men. Possessing The Secret of Joy by Alice Walker , a novel,took me on an unknown and long journey. On this trek I had no desire to stop for chores like cooking, mailing a thank you note, making a phone call or going to get groceries. I was mesmerized. I was hypnotized. I felt at one in some way with Tashi-Evelyn. At the same time I could never say truthfully her pain became real for me. Tashi-Evelyn is two names for one girl-woman. There is her African name and her American name.

Usually, I am a little apprehensive about writing a review. This time I'm almost afraid of a ghost I can not see. Perhaps, it is the ghost that wishes all the physical and emotional pain of women to be hushed, snuffed out like a murdered body. "Even today there are villages where an uncircumcised woman is not permitted to live...circumcision is a taboo that is never discussed." When a woman is cut, she becomes more gentle, humble, obedient in spirit. The spirit becomes stifled. A voice is unable to speak out against rough sexual treatment, a voice is strangled that would speak out against domestic abuse or child abuse. The woman becomes a man's slave without asking any questions, no pulling away, no running away. She is emptied of the desire or need for herself. She feels unworthy to ask for better treatment, a more fulfilled life. "A proper woman must be cutand sewn to fit only her husband, whose pleasure depends on an opening it might take months, even years, to enlarge." After the ritualistic surgery, the girl-woman does not walk, she slides to wherever she must go. Not only does her voice become a whisper. Her feet whisper too as she pours porridge, carries water or weaves a belt with her hands.

Often, on auto pilot I, myself, would say traditions are good. We must have traditions to uphold the living family and friends and the dead family and friends. Now I know my ears must perk up and listen and learn what type of tradition is being upheld by a tribe like the Olinkas or any traditions applauded in America or Europe because rituals can become thorny and without pleasure. Traditional tasks quickly habitual. The questions are: Why am I doing this? Will the activity improve a life or will a person become wrapped in the ropes of bondage?

I am grateful to Alice Walker for writing this novel. At the end of the novel the author writes facts about this age old, painful, tradition. Although, the mutilation of a woman's clitoris is withering to the heart and mind, The author left me with a truth I've seen in my family. Women are made strong of heart. We cry tears not only for ourselves but for other women. We breast feed our children and the children of other women. Women are filled with the strength to keep on going in the midst of suffering because each woman possesses "the secret of joy."

Depressing and Confusing
Most people will likely call this a great piece of literature, but it wasn't that great for me.I found it confusing and depressing. There were moments when I understood what was happening, and then moments where I found myself saying, "I just don't get this."Then there were the passages that were so graphic that I really wanted to put the book down, but I trudged along. It was just too deep for me.Not to take anything away from the author, but I did not like this book.

Complex and Textured
Alice Walker states that the secret of joy is "RESISTANCE", which sums up the book nicely. But there is more to this single word. Resistance to what? Resistance to injustice, in this case specifically the injustice of genital mutilation...but Walker clearly means for this resistance to include other forms of injustice. Such as, you ask? Racism, sexism, bigotry in any form.

Walker's books, including this one, convey the psychological damage of perpetual abuse of a person throughout not only their own life but the life of their ancestors. Therefore, racism and sexism heap psychological damage on their victims for enerations--not to mention the clear sociological problems that germinate from them.

Why does "resistance" bring joy? First, if the injustice is eventually defeated it will bring a new found freedom and autonomy. If nothing else, resistance provides the resister with a moral victory over his or her opponents, which in the end, brings our ill-fated protagonist joy.

The more specific sexual aspect of the book is also embraced by this concept. Resistance to the injustice of genital mutilation, on both the individual and collective level, brings sexual pleasure to the individual and to generations of individuals yet to come. So sexual pleasure also is part of the "secret of joy", only in this case it is a specific instance of what "resistance" can eventually accomplish.

Strong Message, Weak Narrative
First off, I am a great fan of Alice Walker's writing.I devoured The Color Purple and The Temple of My Familiar.Here, however, it seems that the narrative was far too thin to support the weight of such an immediate message.The novel is quite short (I was able to finish it reading sparingly over the course of about 3 days), and a genuine connection with the characters never truly resonates.In fact, the rather weak development of character seems altogether uncommon for an Alice Walker novel.

While Possessing the Secret of Joy was written almost 18 years ago, unfortunately the message is still relevant (and on a spiritual level, perhaps Alice Walker's works always will be).The novel's philosophy on the origination of the ritual practice of female circumcision, tinged with elements of both naturalism and Walker's own womanism, is intriguing and asks the reader to depart modern philosophy and imagine how such a cruel procedure could have originated.

While I do not consider this one of Alice Walker's stronger works, it is still designed with that elegant and rich material that makes this author's writing so magical.And even with its flaws, who would not be be moved when, in the novel's closing lines, Tashi's friends and family reveal to her that there is indeed a secret to joy, and it is a choice we all must make?

too long to ship
I needed this book for a class discussion in about 3 weeks, they said I woould get it in about a week, it actually took 2 weeks to get it and by then I went ahead and bought it somewhere else. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

"Q & A" with author Alice Walker
10/07/1018* of the 19 chapters of"The World Has Changed",(Pgs 35-322)(*exclusive of Chapter 13 which has several paragraphs preceded by topic captions) have a 'diversity of questions' which don't make for 'too much repetition', although they're all interviews of the same interviewee, author Ms Alice Walker...(Mr Rudolph P. Byrd,whose interview is Chapter 19, is also the book's editor)..The book covers interviews done from the years 1973-2009...;It also contains(Pgs 327-331): brief profiles of the many interviewers:(surnames : Allende,Bolen,Byrd,Bring,Chodron,Dreifus,Ferris,Galloway,Giddings,Goodman,Hoy,Jefferson,O'Brien,Schnall,Simon,Swick,Tate,Toms,White,and Zinn).There isa Chronology, 'several poems throughout', an index captioned: "An Index of People and works" and several photos in the 'Introduction section(Pages 1-34)'.

Still reading but enjoying what I've read so far
This is thefirst book I've read with an exciting introduction. With the controversies surrounding Walker over the years it is great to see her evolution of thought in tandem with her life experience. Not every chapter holds you spellbound, but the ones that do, really do. ... Read more

Product Description
The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Color Purple, Possessing the Secret of Joy, and The Temple of My Familiar now gives us a beautiful new novel that is at once a deeply moving personal story and a powerful spiritual journey.

In Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart, Alice Walker has created a work that ranks among her ?nest achievements: the story of a woman’s spiritual adventure that becomes a passage through time, a quest for self, and a collision with love.

Kate has always been a wanderer. A well-published author, married many times, she has lived a life rich with explorations of the natural world and the human soul. Now, at fifty-seven, she leaves her lover, Yolo, to embark on a new excursion, one that begins on the Colorado River, proceeds through the past, and flows, inexorably, into the future. As Yolo begins his own parallel voyage, Kate encounters celibates and lovers, shamans and snakes, memories of family disaster and marital discord, and emerges at a place where nothing remains but love.

Told with the accessible style and deep feeling that are its author’s hallmarks, Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart is Alice Walker’s most surprising achievement.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Life Changing!
This book was one of the most engaging, life altering books I have ever read. I connected to the characters of Yolo and Kate like they were a part of me I had forgotten about yet been searching for. Though it doesnt flow like a typical fiction novel - its more of a character study - this book gives ideas and experiences everyone needs to connect to. Highly recommend.

Now is the time to open your mind Alice
I was eagerly looking forward to reading this book, and I have to say, I was sorely disappointed. I'm a huge Alice Walker fan, and have read everything that she has ever written and this was definitely my least favorite novel.

The characters were not engaging, by the end of the book I felt no connection or empathy with any of them. The plot was rambling and unrealistic. I don't mind flights of fantasy, but in this book it was just distracting.

But the really disappointing part for me was that I was left with the feeling that she basically blames all of the world's problems on white people and feels that all other races are superior to white people, spiritually, emotionally, and morally. This conclusion almost made me want to cry because Alice Walker has been up until this novel my favorite living author, and it is so disheartening to feel that she has these convictions.

All the world's problems are caused by: People...all people...we all are responsible and we all have the same ability to sink to deplorable depths and to rise to inspiring heights. To read a book in this day and age that would try to suggest otherwise is a real letdown. It is time to catch up Alice, and move forward.

I will keep reading her work, out of faithfulness to her prior work and out of hopefulness. If you want to read a good Alice Walker book, skip this one and read "the temple of my familiar"

A Novel for Our Time
Alice Walker's Now is the Time to Open Your Heart is a must read for all of you out there searching for a new view of life.This book is so on target, so filled with wisom, so evocative, so fair minded that I plan to re-read it immediately because I'm sure I missed things the first time around.In order to transform the world we need to transform our imaginations, get out of the stale mental processes that have led us to our impasse.Alice Walker has fulfilled this beautifully in this wonderful truthful novel.

A heart-felt book
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple, talks about her life and work. The latest literary phenomenon is 'Matron Lit': romantic fiction aimed at the older woman. Do older women want to see the reality of their lives reflected in romantic fiction or do they prefer their fantasy figures in pert good health, and without the family responsibilities and emotional baggage that maturity often brings? Alice Walker burst onto the literary stage in 1983 when she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, The Colour Purple. The book went on to sell more than 5 million copies, and in 1985 was made into a film by Steven Spielberg -bringing the experiences of a young black woman in the American South to a mass audience for the first time. In 1992, her novel, Possessing the Secret of Joy, raised awareness on the issue of female genital mutilation. She's been a controversial campaigner for black and women's rights - coining the term 'womanist' to describe African American women's experience of feminism. Now, at the age of 61, she's the author of 27 books - of poetry, novels, short stories and memoirs.Now Is The Time To Open Your Heart by Alice Walker,

Not in her list of best.
I have great respect for Alice Walker and have loved many of her books.This one I found hard to follow, unrealistic, and not very recommendable.I think she knew this before it came out, the dedication in itself is an apology basically stating that with all it's flaws it was time to publish the book anyway.

In many ways I thought this book read like a memoir disguised as a novel.Maybe the exact retreats or experiences aren't the same, but she is clearly trying to impart information learned in retreat like settings in real life.

The avid Walker fan will of course have to read this book, but if you haven't read her before, start with a different one to get a true flavor.
... Read more

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Customer Reviews (453)

Please with the delivery
I was very please with the delivery of the book The Color Purple.It first went to wrong address, I was having it sent to someone else out of state. The sender kept me in the loop of everything, which was very much appreicated.I will be using Amazon again in the very near future. Thank you once again for the quick delivery.

Never received
they said they didn't have any more and was going to refund my money I havent' received my refund as of yet, and they are still advertising the book as available. Do NOT ORDER FROM THEM You will not receive it.

The Color Purple
I did read the whole book - can't say that I really enjoyed it. It was very sad for most of the book. It was rather hard to read with the black dialect but got easier the more I read. At least the ending was happy. I read it for my book club but would not recommend it for everyday reading.

This musical tie-in edition apparently not available?
Service and shipping were perfect--no problems whatsoever.My only concern is that I specifically ordered copied of this "Musical Tie-In" edition of the novel (for a project with a group of students who will be seeing the musical) and that is not what I received-all copies were of the new and more generic cover.However, the content of the writing is actually the most important thing and I needed these copies right away to distribute to students, so there was no time to contact the seller to address the issue.I do, however, think it would be better "truth in advertising" to not advertise the "musical tie-in) version if it is not available.

Never received it
I ordered this book three times and according to the picture on this website I never got this book. I received three of the same book which looks nothing like this one so I'm not convinced that my son got the right book for school! this is very disappointing. ... Read more

Product Description
This anthology represents Alice Walker’s complete earlier poetry,
from the summer of 1965 when she traveled to East Africa and
began the poems that would form her first collection, through her
poetry of the civil rights movement and beyond. Revelatory introductions
to each group of poems provide a special insight into the evolving
consciousness of one of the most remarkable and provocative literary
minds of our time.
Amazon.com Review
The quest for peace and joy in a difficult world drivesWalker's poetry. Even the most difficult moments can be redeemed, sheseems to be saying in the excellent "Good Night Willie Lee, I'll Seeyou in the Morning." Walker has grown as a poet, so that much of thestrongest material comes in the later work, especially the wistful"Poem at Thirty-Nine."Highly recommended. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Walker Convert
Reading Alice Walker reviews here on Amazon is highly annoying.Either they praise her to the skies, scouring any who react with an analytical response, or they attack her for the racial simplicities that some see as marring her work(those who get annoyed by her "white folk have no rhythm" trope).Both extremes have not been very useful for promoting *my* greater understanding of her work--I see the talent seething, squirming in her--but through many books, there were twists in her choices that alienated her talent to me.

Simply put, this book that convinced me Alice is a Talent with a capital "T".She starts with a lovely preface, "In keeping faith with Poetry's honest help to me, I have not deleted or changed--beyond a word or two--anything I have written, though greatly tempted at times to do so.The young self, the naive promiscuous self, appear doubly vulnerable now, in light of my unexpected bonus of years, and the experience they have brought me.I embrace them all, as Poetry embraced me..."From there, she follows with some beautiful, beautiful poetry, speaking to the struggle to develop and improve as an artist.

There are mis-steps, irritations."There are no tigers/in Africa!/You say./Frowning./Yes. I say./Smiling./But they are/very beautiful." doesn't do much for me.I prefer my evocations of Africa without this almost Disney-esque gloss of "all cool primitive things we'll embrace as African."

Cumulatively, however--the poems are terrific.It's not often that I read through an entire volume of poetry without putting it down.Read this book for all its warts and missteps--and glory in it for its terrific human achievement.

Surrounded With Inspiration
Startled to find so many poems that resonated in my own life, I copied many down and posted them around by room. Each provides a meditation on a different theme, from death to distraction, affairs of the heart to hungerand the nagging, geographic pull to home. When I give my speech atgraduation next week, it will end with "The Nature Of This Flower IsTo Bloom," thanks to Alice Walker.

Great Compilation
I love the structure of her poems.She writes for those who have forgotten how things used to be with African American life and struggles.My favorite section in the book is from "Revolutionary Petunias" and "Willie Lee."Walker has been an inspiration for me in writing poetry.I love her use of imagery in her free verse.It was commented that Walker relies too much on her relationships in her personal friendships in her writing.But I disagree.I propose that no one should read her poetry without reading her autobiography of her past.Most poets will create an illusion of situations, but Walker alludes to her past and speaks the truth to us all.I hope she sees this because I've always wanted to talk with her and ask her about the things I have written, but I am in the process of challenging myself to want the reader to feel something in a meter that they can feel but not see.Then THATS incredible.Nice work Ms. Walker ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (5)

A Beautiful Poem in a Beautiful Book
I have a favorite quote that I like and this goes along with what this book is about.I forgot who wrote this, but it goes like this:

"Won't you come into my garden?I would like my roses to meet you."

This book is about how nature is meeting the author and getting to know her and how the author is essentially passive and is just enjoying all that nature is giving back to her emotionally.Basically, the flower is so beautiful, that she feels that it has a personality that wants to spiritutally connect to her.Instead of her leading the dog, the dog is leading her, and she can just feel free to spiritually experience that without having to be the leader--its a book about accepting the moments of life as they come, and the spiritual contact we sometimes don't experience because we are too busy thinking and planning for the next thing.

It's a beautiful book that makes you stop and realize that there is so much happening around us that we just tune out to, but if we just don't think so much and just feel and try to emotionally identify with nature and it's beauty and the beauty inside of us, there is beauty all around us.Its a book about feeling joyful and rejoicing--at least that is what I felt this BEAUTIFUL BOOK is about.

The illustrations are simple but very colorful, but that is what the book is about--the simplicity of life and its wonders---how nature can touch us if we don't try so hard to touch it.Just sit back and let the flower give something to you without reaching out to it---the flower will reach out to you.Without taking a pen to write about yourself, don't try so hard and let the pen write you---JUST LET GO--sometimes we try so hard to be happy, instead of just letting go and letting what's around us speak to us and take us where we need to go.

Beautiful poetry and illustrations
This is a book that both young children and their parents can enjoy.The illustrations are detailed and beautiful, accompanying the poetry perfectly.The use of language to describe the sensations and spiritual experiences is both beautiful enough to make lovely poetry, and descriptive enough to engage young (and not so young) children.This book is a wonderful addition to any children's collection.

Morning has broken
I'm a contrary critter. At random moments, never when I can predict their appearance and never when I can guard against them, I will suddenly be beset by a case of the contraries. The very first time I laid eyes on an ad for Alice Walker's, "There Is a Flower At the Tip of My Nose Smelling Me", the contraries hit me full-force. Alice Walker's trying her hand at another children's book, eh? I was unimpressed. Oh sure, it looked cool. So do Madonna's books for that matter. It means nothing. So for months and months and months I refused to read the book. There's no explanation for it. I was simply being petulant. Sight unseen I'd made up my mind that I wasn't interested and that, ladies and gentlemen, was that. Such an attitude might suit a hermit living in a cave somewhere, but it is hardly befitting of a children's librarian. It was hard for me to ignore the fact that slowly the roar surrounding Walker's book has grown louder. It's on one best book of the year list.. no, two! No, three! I couldn't stand idly by and let this happen. If I was going to dislike this book, I was at least going to give myself a reason. So I picked it up and read it cover to cover and wouldn't you know it? It's not bad. Not bad at all. Certainly finding the right illustrator was key to the book's success, but nobody can say that Walker hasn't found a topic appealing to child-reader set. It's admittedly not the kind of poem I'd immediately gravitate towards, but I'd be lying to you if I said the book wasn't oddly beautiful. Not a first choice, but certainly a worthy one.

A young girl, her face visible only in the lower right-hand corner of the page, sniffs a pale pink bloom. Says the text, "There is a flower at the tip of my nose smelling me." Turn the page and now the girl is embedded within a deep black/blue/purple sky. Here eyes are the clouds that float before her face, stars dotted everywhere. "There is a sky at the end of my eye seeing me." Working with this inside-out look at the world, the girl goes on to discover rain, dances, oceans, and finally, "There is a story at the end of my arms telling me!"

In her "Note from the Author" at the end of the book, Ms. Walker explains how the inspiration for this poem came to her. Basically, she was walking in a forest near her house and "the wonder of myself as part of all this overcame me. I began to sing: 'I come out of You, my Love. I come out of You!' ". She later remarks that, "I wrote this book, which was not a book then, but a thank you note." It wouldn't be too much of a stretch then to interpret this book as a religious meditation on God's wonders. On the other hand, it would be equally easy to see this as an example of personal empowerment. After all, the book is all about me me me. I guess that in addition to creating a book where kids can bend their minds around statements like, "There is a pen nestled in my hand writing me", Ms. Walker leaves its spiritual significance wide open. The bookflap of this title describes the poem as a, "gently provocative text", which seems like wishful thinking on the publisher's part. Still, there's is definitely an allure here that's hard to pin down.

It's a pity that the book doesn't happen to mention how illustrator Stefano Vitale created the art. From what I can tell it may have involved painting directly onto a wooden canvas, but that's just guesswork. Certainly Walker's poem is quite nice. Kid-friendly and simple, but with just the right hint of something deeper involved. Still, it's not hard to imagine what could have happened had her words been paired with a less than stellar artist. Some might have taken her story and filled it with pastel puppy dogs, bubbles, and butterflies. Someone else might have gone the opposite direction and gone all mod on us. Maybe this would have been all adult-centered three-toned shades of brown and the occasional representational object for kicks affair. Vitale's strength with this book is that he's willing to make his work both child-friendly AND easy on the eyes. His images jump close to his subject matter, as with the picture of a sunrise where we can make out a quarter of the girl's face, prominent and striking, on almost half a page. Mr. Vitale is currently a resident of Venice, and perhaps his attachment to that particular city is at work in this book. The girl's masklike (though by no means unemotional) face, the colors, the sinuous use of line, etc. all give the book a distinctly European air. Or maybe I'm just saying that because I know where Mr. Vitale currently makes his home. Dunno. All I can say for sure is that if Mr. Vitale were to turn his image of the girl blending in with the indigo-hued night sky into a poster, he'd be set for life.

I'm a sucker for simplified openings. For example, you pick up this book and you open the front cover. The endpapers are just a shaded rainbow spectrum, continuous and unblemished. You turn the page. Here too is the image we saw on the cover on our left. Below it are two small dedications. On the right is the title page. After that the story starts, and all the remaining publication info is squeezed into the back of the book. There's nothing like a little good design to help a title of this type along.

It's still not my favorite book of the year, but that can't really be attributed to anything but personal preference. Alice Walker's latest hits all the right notes and is a thoughtful piece as well. Worth your time and consideration.

Great for the imagination
My 22-month-old loves the illustrations and is intrigued by the "reverse" thinking (a flower smelling her?)What a fun, creative and enticing book for all children!

Great Book Not Only For Grade School Kids!
I really loved the brilliant color and the way each of the reader's senses was brought out in the book.For small children the colorful pictures will be irresistible, and for school age children it is an in depth look at the way our senses enhance our everyday life. ... Read more

Product Description
Meridian Hill is a young woman at an Atlanta college attempting to find her place in the revolution for racial and social equality. She discovers the limits beyond which she will not go for the cause, but despite her decision not to follow the path of some of her peers, she makes significant sacrifices in order to further her beliefs. Working in a campaign to register African American voters, Meridian cares broadly and deeply for the people she visits, and, while her coworkers quit and move to comfortable homes, she continues to work in the deep South despite a paralyzing illness. Meridian's nonviolent methods, though seemingly less radical than the methods of others, prove to be an effective means of furthering her beliefs.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Amazing!
One of the best books I have ever read!This book should definitely leave a permanent mark on the Afican American Literary Canon.Alice Walker has an incredible story and journey to share.This book is perfect for any research on cultural studies or feminism and gender theory!

Probably not the best introduction to Walker.
I have procrastinated about reviewing this book, largely because I feel as though I did not really understand it. There are some books that you just know from the get go have to be read more than once before you start to get the picture. I think that Meridian is one of those books. So take this as a series of preliminary notes to a review, if you will.

In a way, it was a pleasant surprise. I sometimes have the feeling from Walker's prose that she is a little too literal-- more message than character driven. Meridian is precisely the opposite. Extremely strong characters, with a plot that feels more like an impression of a time than a clear story. Although and then again, there is a story. Something about the madness of a bereaved mother. Something about civil rights work in the 1960s South. Something about friendships between black and white and how that translates into romantic relationships. Part of why I would probably need a second read has to do with how far this is past my personal experience.

Reading the reviews online, it seems that this book is inflicted on unwilling teenagers across the US. Too bad, since I think it is one of the most difficult of Walker's books to read. Something like The Color Purple is much more accessible.

It may be that this book is too disjointed, relies too much on the shared experience of the potential readers. It may also be that I simply need to read it again, and then it will become more clear. There is a lot of good stuff here, and I'd still call it worth the time to read despite feeling that I missed much (most?) of the book.

incandescent story and writing, but disjoint and unsatisfying structure
"Meridian" is set in post civil rights black America but reaches back deeply at least two generations, and sometimes as far back as 1800's slavery.Ms. Walker's language is incandescent, her story incendiary, her characters thoughtful and deeply provoking.Like when I read James Baldwin for the first time, I was moved to racial rage many times, and I learned so much about how it was (is) for people of colour, and for those who loved them.I especially loved the writing, clear and sparkling, and the treatises on women and child bearing and relationships and race were point blank and heart breaking, displaying a kind of progressiveness far beyond most women I know.

Despite all this amazingness, I found the book to be disjoint and unsatisfying.I don't mind non-chronological narratives, nor shifting perspectives, but the way it was done here felt incomplete to me.It was like character sketches or vignettes mashed together, not like a novel.By the end, I had a sense of the strange ill beautiful principled hero, Meridian, but not in a way that built tension or developed plot or underscored historicity."Meridian" is yet a quick read, but "The Colour Purple" is a cut (or more) above.

Meridian - womanism?
This is probably the single worst book I've ever read.I had to read it for a class so I couldn't quit.

Meridian, the main character in the novel, is very naive and stupid for a person with an IQ of 140.According to Alice Walker, Meridian not only had to study very hard for her classes but also didn't know why she was having sex with her first boyfriend.She didn't understand that she could get pregnant.She didn't understand that her new boyfriend, Truman (when she was about 18 years old) wasn't wearing a condom (no, she wasn't drunk).She couldn't convince a doctor to look at her head when she was blind instead of her vagina.

At one point Meridian watches a guy have sex with a married woman.Meridian gets wet.The author denounces the act of sex and the man who has sex yet somehow praises Meridian who is watching the act secretly from the married woman.Then the author says that she is not even interested in it and the only reason she is there is because there is nothing better to do on a Wednesday afternoon.

All the negative descriptions of the characters in the book are highly biased and unrealistic.

Most male black characters are not admirable while the girls are.

The philanthropists who sent her to school are not appreciated while random homeless girl that can't even talk is appreciated.

Too many sex scenes that contribute nothing to the novel.

Not an easy read, but courageous, heartfelt and very real.
Alice Walker's second novel, 'Meridian' (published 1976), is huge in scope but well-orchestrated and written, and she compresses a 25-year span into just 242 pages.

'Meridian' is tricky to get into. It's not at all that clear what's what & who's who to begin with & it would be easy to put the book down without going quite far enough to hold your interest. Persevere though, and you are rewarded with snippets of Meridian's story - her struggle into adulthood, to self-awareness, public-awareness, and ultimately her struggles for civil rights.

Meridian, as a young 17-year-old - married, divorced, one baby son, all of which happened almost without her even realising - kind of unintentionally stumbles upon some civil rights activists in her home town in the deep South... and from there, as she awakens into a world she has been sheltered from during her childhood, her involvement gets deeper and deeper. Reading just a little about the author's own life, you can see it's impossible to separate book and author here, as a number of parallels with Alice Walker's life in the 60s and 70s run through the novel.

Parts of the story are revealed in a non-chronological way, with themes running through that tie all the threads together - about losing children, inter-racial stuggles both in friendship and marriage and outside of it, the tensions between love and friendship, violence and peace, and of course the very human struggle for human rights. There are a few more themes to contemplate besides these.

It's a powerful and enlightening novel. Personally, I couldn't get on with the ending. I don't want to give anything away, but it doesn't really do justice to the Meridian we've followed haphazardly throughout a 25 year span - not quite a satisfying conclusion to an otherwise fascinating read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

The Color Purple
a very well written book. the things this woman haas to go through is horryfying and sick but she makes it and makes herself a better person and finally sticks up for herself. very powering.

Five stars is not enough
When reading and done with The Color Purple, you'll know you've become a part of something extraordinarily valuable.Basically, this is the story of Celie's life from her teenage years to her approaching retirement age, with her as the first person teller via her diaries and letters.It chronicles the changes, metamorphoses, of her growth.Once the reader is comfortable with Celie's dialect, the story of Celie and the people around her blossoms.It's very easy to care deeply about Celie.She, Shug, her sister Nellie, Sofia and others are drawn with pinpoint clarity, although it seems to me that with a couple of modest exceptions, the men are not as well drawn, perhaps reflecting Celie's perspectives and telling.The range of emotions is dazzling and the story draws one in thoroughly.The first time I tried to read it, I found the beginning too upsetting to continue, but upon this second, determined reading, I came to regret not getting past that beginning before.Simply said: the Puliter committee was right.If the next step up from great writing is great writing that affects your life, this surely is.Amazing!

Powerful Story
I first read this book many years ago when I was in my mid-teens. No matter how many times I've read this book, it's still as intense as ever. Parts of the book were a litte predictable, but I could still enjoy reading them. Alice Walker is probably one of the best authors I had ever had a chance to read from.

I felt deeply for Celia because of how abused she was and how she got out of that situation.Her growth as a character was very powerful and deep impacting to the overall plot.

Life Affirming
The Color Purple is an excellent book.Although the ending is predictable, I became so invested in the characters that I felt overwhelming joy as I finished the book.I knew what was coming but I didn't expect the impact when it arrived.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker
This item was received on time in Great condition.This is a great book and a poplar title.Thank you. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (48)

one of my favorites
This is one of the most touching and moving books I have read. I bought this copy for a friend but had to read it again first!

An Ethereal Adventure
I found myself hooked on this novel after the first sentence, and it has given me one of my more magical reading experiences.The Temple of My Familiar is part history, part myth, part love story, part everything.Walker's prose is absolutely rapturous.

But, as concisely as possible, I would like to try to address some of the issues that have been raised in other reviews.As close as I've grown to this book over the past couple of weeks, I feel like I've been put in the position of defending a friend.

First of all, I did not find the novel hard to follow.Yes, there is a certain Chekhovian decentralization, and we are never given a specific protagonist, but each storyline is completely engaging in its own way.And the tiny ways in which these characters' lives intersected over the course of the novel never failed to bring a smile to my face.The psuedo cameos from characters in The Color Purple were a delightful connection.(Note for those readers of The Color Purple who are not aware:this novel, in large part, follows the story of Celie's granddaughter.)

It's an Alice Walker novel so, yes, it has political forays -- some bizarre, others poignant.But I do not understand the fear of the things that Alice Walker writes.History is dark, and it deserves to be studied, even if our own sensibilities are offended.Her word is not law, it's simply her word.Her philosophy.Her story.Sensitivity to her touchy subject matter should not distract from the beauty of her prose and storytelling.

I will confess one problem with the book (and it is the only reason I docked it one star):Walker is not capable of separating her own voice from those of her characters.No protagonist ever steps outside of its creator's shadow, and each time a character states an opinion on the world, small or grand -- be it a musician they admire or a first lady they detest, we know that it is actually Ms. Walker's own opinion and spiritual message we are reading.And this does not even give mention to the raw sexuality of ALL of her characters.They suffer a poverty of independent ideas.

Luckily, what Walker (through her characters) has to say is captivating.Did I agree with every generalization or feminist critique?Of course not.But my own disagreement with a dicey philosophy did not stop me from enjoying this wonderfully rich novel.

For my part, The Temple of My Familiar is highly recommend for any reader who is looking for a good book to transport them to another world.Or I suppose in the case of this novel, many worlds.

Enthralling
This is a book that I will always remember! I was completely enthralled in it. I loved the memorable characters in this book. I also loved how each character continued to grow and explore things about themselves. I found this book very easy to relate too.

Tells instead of Shows
I adored Walker's The Color Purple, so when I pulled her book The Temple of My Familiar off a friend's shelf, I looked forward to an entertaining and elucidating time.Unfortunately, the book was disappointing.

Most readers - and certainly all writers - are familiar with the maxim, "Show, don't tell."Walker breaks this fundamental rule and has characters telling for the entire book.For the most part, the characters sound like each other.For the most part, the listeners sit by, accepting, unquestioning, drinking in the words and stories as if they are the most profound wisdom, their mouths as wide open as if they were baby birds, never disagreeing with or challenging what is told them.Perhaps this is how Walker intends these views to be taken, however, remaining in a state of awe for more than 400 pages is difficult for a reader.

Besides - although I find her viewpoint interesting, which emphasizes the importance of the Goddess and the idea that all would be much better if black women ruled the world - I can't agree with it. I think that the majority of whites - admittedly, not all - don't spend their time these days thinking about how to keep black people down.Many of us cheer when blacks do well - a successful black person is much better for society than a black who is poor and unhappy - just as we cheer when other the people of other races do well.Perhaps I would have appreciated the story more if I could have sighed and said, "how true" - but I could not.

However, the real problem in The Temple of My Familiar is not what Walker is saying, but how she is saying it.Furthermore, the book itself is complicated and convoluted, with tangled relationships between the characters.And I don't mean that the relationships are emotionally complex, just that there are lots of aunts and uncles and difficult-to-diagram genealogical charts, as well as some confusion as to who is sleeping with whom.Furthermore, the characters never seem to touch each other, again, because Walker tells instead of shows.We are told that they are happy or that they are sad or that they are moved - but we don't feel it, because we are told instead of shown.

There are glimmers of brilliance.The opening is wonderful - possibly because Walker was showing instead of telling at this point, and because at this point the cast of characters is small and manageable.

Masterful Book
I was taken aback on some of the customer reviews and I felt the need to defend this extraordinary book."Temple of My Familiar" is more than an African-American feminist polemic or a deconstruction of Judeo-Christian values or a debunking of Western myth-making (that we call history). However, this appears to be where most critics get hung up on. They seem to point to certain "imperfections" such as the unruly narrative structure populated by countless characters and may subplots or the lack of restraint in the novel's exploration of numerous ideas and philosophical threads. The reality is that Temple of My Familiar challenges our preconceptions and offers up alternative worldviews as a direct confrontation to our socialized paradigms. But more importantly, it challenges us to explore what we have somehow lost along the way--our spiritual consciousness and sense of belonging. Ms. Walker possesses the courage of her convictions, and as such, this novel defies any attempt to put it into some nice neat little package. The novel challenges the reader to think, listen and dream. And the process is not orderly or self-evident. Temple doesn't offer up any real epiphanies or earth shattering revelations. It only offers suggestions and possibilities and most importantly, hopes. We have lost "Eden" a long way back; Temple of My Familiar is a beautiful attempt to get back to the garden.
Heck, nobody said, "It was going to be easy!"

She masterfully moves her characters beyond worldly conventions towards not only a greater understanding of themselves but of humanity at large. I honestly recommend this book to anyone who as ever wished to further themselves, because it is a literary experiment into the healing side of human nature (a side too often compromised for violence). Furthermore, it is a book of real people rising out of varying levels of suppression-a book which in gauges everyone to break limits and asks questions of at least themselves. Yes indeed this is a book which tells us why we struggle to stay alive...why we press forth into the next day.
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Product Description
In this illuminating book, Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist and acclaimed poet Alice Walker reveals her remarkable philosophy of life. Curiously, this labor of love started with the author’s signature: Faced with the daunting task of providing autographs for multiple copies of one of her poetry collections, Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth, Walker turned an act of repetition into an act of inspiration. For each autograph became something more than a name: a thoughtful reflection, an impromptu sketch, a heartfelt poem. The result is this spontaneous burst of the unexpected. A Poem Traveled Down My Arm is a lovely collection of insights and drawings—by turns charming and humorous, provocative and profound—that represent the wisdom of one of today’s most beloved writers.

The essence of Walker’s independent spirit emanates from words and images that are simple but deep in meaning. An empowering approach to life...the inspiration to live completely in the moment...the chance to nurture one’s creativity and peace of mind—all these beautiful elements are evoked by this unusual and original book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Poems to reflect on in Alice Walker's "A Poem Traveled Down My Arm"
Alice Walker's A Poem Traveled Down My Arm focuses on many issues, including her love for the Earth and her disdain for environmental change. In the foreword the author describes her volume of poems as "...a story about creativity, the force that surges and ebbs in all of us, and links us to the divine".I think the divine in Walker's case is to reconnect us back to mother Earth, which to her, is the creator and essence of life. The path civilization has taken seems to have become a disappointment as it has strayed towards compliancy of aggressive and destructive behavior. Alice Walker's poem on page 95 plainly asks "Don't you think they intend to incinerate the Earth who create a napalm to burn our flesh even under water?" She continues, "Do not be like cows grazing watching the butcher" (144). And goes on to tell us on page 148, "I will go on believing that even if provoked it is inappropriate to bomb teenagers." The powerful poems question our future and entice us to become active participants in a world that is quickly becoming unrecognizable. She urges us not to remain passive (grazing) while horrors (butcher) are taking place.

These poems also force us to see the logic behind becoming environmentally aware. She tells us "To live in this world is to accept torture even of tomatoes. Who knew" (80), and follows with "Strive to remember it is not normal to live in terror of the water in your glass" (142). Alice Walker is asking us to question our treatment of Earth and to remember that this is not how we have always lived, or is it a way to continue living. We have become accustomed to being afraid of where the drinking water has come from, and have been torturing vegetation through the ill treatment of our planet. Although these poems are not traditional in form, and read more like spontaneous thoughts (which I believe was intended), they are a worthwhile read that will leave the reader with many thoughts to ponder.

"Understanding war I do not harm myself."
Many book buyers prefer prose because poets often take two stanzas to say what can be said in a well-crafted phrase.The poetry section is usually one of the smallest sections in a bookstore.Poets often use substitution, excessive description, and analogy, when speaking directly may be more clear.But Alice Walker does not suffer from any of those poetic tendencies.Her poems are brief and plain speaking, but there is nothing plain about the extraordinary intelligence her words reveal. I'm an Alice Walker fan, but I wasn't looking to buy a book of her poems.I was actually scanning through different collections of poetry from another infamous and radical American poet whose last name also starts with "W."One of life's great gifts is that you often find some of the best treasures not directly where you are headed, but on the nearby paths.

The title "A Poem Traveled Down My Arm" reminded me of a good lyric "The movement you need is on your shoulder."The book is a "story about exhaustion.About deciding to quit.About attempting to give up what it is not in one's power to give up:one's connection to the Source.Being taught this lesson.Ultimately it is a story about Creativity, the force that surges and ebbs in all of us, and links us to the Divine."Here are a few lines to give you a sense of the book, first on the topics of love, human understanding, and relationships:

"Every time you die you live differently."
"Feed the stranger under your coat."
"She comes from heaven unannounced."
"What is a promise if not your hand in mine?"
"Release the tyranny of gender:Make love not programming."
"Man reborn as woman do not give in to fear."

And as any good oracle or commentator, Alice Walker does not avoid issues that dominate our world:

"Understanding war I do not harm myself."
"There is no "Other" only you - at war."
"How can we rest thinking of their burning legs?What is the balm for consciousness?"
"No gadget in all Creation to distract us forever from our grief."
"Choose one country other than your own to love.Keep a finger on its pulse."

And 2 of my personal favorites:

"Choose someone to love who wouldn't even hear of it.Notice ducks."
"No one can end suffering except through dance."

I don't know why these ideas came to Ms. Walker's consciousness at this time, or why she chose these select ideas to publish.But I am grateful, because they were timely for me.To find them, you must go places most people choose not to go.You might be asking "Yes, but over 10 bucks for a book of single clause pages and scribbles?"Going back to my opening point, Alice Walker can reveal more uncommon wisdom in a clause than most people can reveal in a chapter, an essay, or a state of the union address.The book is a valuable asset."There is only kindness lucid, strong in the moment like sunlight penetrating a gloomy glade.The offer of empathy or tea or soup or bread a bed."

something for everyone
This collection of poems simply makes me happy. I feel honored to live on a planet where such a being as Alice Walker resides. Alice brings me hope. Alice makes me happy. Her simple playfulness is refreshing.

beautiful!
This book is a true gem - although the words are few, the message conveyed is readily understood, if you are open to hearing it!At once sad, hopeful, and other honest emotions, the poems are quite lovely.The book is short, but you will want to read it again and again.As you read, listen to the Divine.

So Beautifully Spare
This is typical Alice Walker beauty and earthiness.The spare truth about life, love, loss and heartbreak.And of course, TRIUMPH.

I've never much liked Walker's poetry before.But this tome is more than worth your time and attention.She fills the pages with enough pathos, rain and sunshine for two novels--and all with spare words.

Great for reading in the park on somber days.




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Product Description
In this collection of essays, reviews and articles, Alice Walker brings her most powerful, moving and poetic voice to the crucial subjects of art, politics and social change. ... Read more

Product Description
For a happy few of us there is the good fortune of having had a Mr. Sweet in our childhood. Someone who erases the boundaries between children and adults, whose praise makes us strong--and whose love teaches us what love really is. The luminous full-color paintings are alive with the tender joy of the story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

lovely story about the connection between people
I remember reading this book when I was a little girl and being so moved at 7 or 8 years old by the sensitivity of the relationship between the little girl and old man and the accute sense of personal loss at his death.Now that I am older, I appreciate even more the emphasis of human connection that shines through in this book.How wonderful to be a child and have a friend like Mr. Sweet. Although written in a style that younger children can easily relate to, it is a beautiful story to be appreciated at any age.I still have my copy twenty years later. The only hesitation would be the title which may make some parents nervous but again, I was never negatively influenced by it and the story's positive message far outweighs this one flaw. Beautiful illustrations as well.

Read at your own risk!
Even if the ALA gives it a horrible review, this book is the side kick to literature such as The Bluest Eye, and Color Purple, believe it or not I would not consider this book for even my 5th graders, but rather the graduate level Library Science students!I had to read it twice and stop along the way, take in the details and realize how this miserable man's life had touched a young bright girl.At a time when so much is against African Americans a book comes along and you see a different reality.A reality whites choose to dismiss altogether, I'm Latino and in many ways I cannot relate to this story, however; it was a story that proves people wrong in so many ways.

BEAUTIFUL BOOK!!!
Beautifully written, beautifully illustrated.My mother insisted on reading this book to me when i was at the age where i was "too old for children's books!"When she finished, i asked whether maybe i couldkeep the book... ... Read more

Product Description
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Product Description
Admirers of The Color Purple will find in these stories more evidence
of Walker’s power to depict black women—women who vary
greatly in background yet are bound together by what they share in
common.Taken as a whole, their stories form an enlightening,
disturbing view of life in the South.
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Customer Reviews (3)

book that talks to the soul
My son asked me to read a short story by Alice Walker. He was analyzing different writing styles for a writing class. I was pleasantly taken back by the way she uses certain detailsto communicated to those of us who are not literature major's. I bought several of her books. In readingthem I found that she had retained a sense of her Africa culture. Her outlook is hoslitic and circular whilemost white writerswritelinear.
The purposeof writing is to communicate and Alice Walker does that. Her writing is not pretentious but humble like the people she writes about. Her writingmetaphorically legitimizes being black!

Something I'll read over and over again...loved it
A collection of short stories that I first read for a Black Literature class when I was in college in the '70....and here recently, shared it with my book club as our book of the month. Ms. Walker's writing style makes youfeel you are right there with the character. While each story presentsdifferent experiences of African-American women, women of all nationalitieswill be able to relate to the stories and the emotions. It's a fast pacedbook that is heart-warming, amusing, sad,....every emotion is touched.

Walker learned at the knee of Hurston....
Clearly no ground-breaking storyteller in the mold of Joyce,Ellison, or Hemingway, Walker IS, however, a very entertaining and resourceful author who is able to make up with charm what she lacks in originality and clarity of aesthetic vision. These stories, however, lean too hard against the trunk of Hurston's Eatonville folksy charm to make an indelible impression, and the sordidness which is featured in the narrative remains ill-conceived and dangerously ill-informed. For Walker's simple best, pick up a copy of her "The Color Purple", which remains landmark in its singularity of ambition and revisionistic approach to an otherwise- tired narrative form. ... Read more