Alice Walker – Happy Birthday to the Author of ‘The Colour Purple’

Alice Walker is an American novelist, poet, short story writer, and social activist. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel ‘The Colour Purple’ and became the first African-American woman to win this award.

Alice Malsenior Walker was born on 9 February 1944 in Eatonton, Georgia, a rural farming town. Her parents were humble sharecroppers, and in her childhood, Alice Walker sustained an injury to her right eye. She became permanently blind in this eye after the injury. She took up reading and writing after this.

After completing her education, Alice Walker published her collection of poems named ‘Once’. Alice Walker published her first novel, ‘The Third Life of Grange Copeland’, in 1970. Her second novel ‘Meridian’ was published in 1976. Her most famous work, ‘The Colour Purple’ was published in 1982. The story follows a black woman from her teenage to later years in life as she fights through white racism and black patriarchy. This book helped Alice gain much recognition and she won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. This book was adapted into a movie by Steven Spielberg in 1985.  

Alice Walker has written several other novels, including ‘The Temple of My Familiar’ and ‘Possessing the Secret of Joy’. She has published several collections of short stories, poetry, and other writings. Her work is focused on the struggles of black people, especially women, and their lives in a racist, sexist, and violent society. She is also a fighter for Civil rights and a strong feminist who spoke for women of color.

We wish this strong and brilliant writer a very happy birthday. 

–Poorna Krishnan