Words From The Heart with Alice Walker

Bold and gifted as a speaker, poet and writer, Alice Walker offers colorful words of wisdom to a world in need of them. She urges us to question the assumptions and forces that guide our personal decisions, and reminds us of the power and necessity of dreams, visions and storytelling to keep our perspective. She also shares her own personal stories of her decision to have only one child, and her strong belief that raising happy, healthy children is the key to a healthy future. "A society that ignores a crying child is a doomed society," she says, "and you don't need more than one child crying." (hosted by Justine and Michael Toms)

Bio

Alice Walker is the eighth child of Georgia sharecroppers. After a childhood accident blinded her in one eye, she went on to become valedictorian of her local school, and attend Spelman College and Sarah Lawrence College on scholarships, graduating in 1965. She won the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award for her novel The Color Purple, which was made in a movie by Steven Spielberg. She is also the author of three collections of short stories, three collections of essays, five volumes of poetry, and several children's books. Her works are heartful reminders of the strengths of family, community, self-worth, nature, and spirituality.

Her novels include:

• The Color Purple (Mariner Books 2003)
• The Temple of My Familiar (Mariner Books; Reprint edition 2010)
• By the Light of My Father's Smile (Random House; 1st edition 1998)
• Possessing the Secret of Joy (The New Press; New Edition edition 2008)
• Now Is the Time To Open Your Heart  (Ballantine Books; Reprint edition 2005)

Host: Justine & Michael Toms      Interview Date: 4/27/1992       Program Number: 2335