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Alice Walker
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Valerie Boyd
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Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker, 1965–2000 Hardcover – Deckle Edge, April 12, 2022

by Alice Walker (Author), Valerie Boyd (Editor)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 283 ratings
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From National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize–winning author Alice Walker and edited by critic and writer Valerie Boyd, comes an unprecedented compilation of Walker’s fifty years of journals drawing an intimate portrait of her development over five decades as an artist, human rights and women’s activist, and intellectual.

For the first time, the edited journals of Alice Walker are gathered together to reflect the complex, passionate, talented, and acclaimed Pulitzer Prize winner of The Color Purple. She intimately explores her thoughts and feelings as a woman, a writer, an African-American, a wife, a daughter, a mother, a lover, a sister, a friend, a citizen of the world.

In an unvarnished and singular voice, she explores an astonishing array of events: marching in Mississippi with other foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr.; her marriage to a Jewish lawyer, defying laws that barred interracial marriage in the 1960s South; an early miscarriage; writing her first novel; the trials and triumphs of the Women’s Movement; erotic encounters and enduring relationships; the ancestral visits that led her to write The Color Purple; winning the Pulitzer Prize; being admired and maligned, sometimes in equal measure, for her work and her activism; and burying her mother. A powerful blend of Walker’s personal life with political events, this revealing collection offers rare insight into a literary legend.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    560 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster
  4. Publication date
    April 12, 2022
  5. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1.5 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1476773157
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1476773155
  8. See all details
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From the Publisher

GATHERING BLOSSOMS UNDER FIRE

GATHERING BLOSSOMS UNDER FIRE

GATHERING BLOSSOMS UNDER FIRE

GATHERING BLOSSOMS UNDER FIRE

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Those who know Alice Walker’s body of work know that she inspired a generation of Black women writers who continue to impact America’s literary landscape. And didn’t so many of us read Walker to understand how to survive this place, to fight to become whole, to pull self-love to our fleshy, dark selves? And now, to read Walker’s journals—decades of unfiltered musings showing us a complex person with sorrows, triumphs, flaws, and beauties—feels like witnessing a medicine moment, a griotte’s testimony.” —Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois

“Alice Walker contains multitudes. She is a truth-telling, word-working, change-conjuring, culture-shifting, revolutionary artist and citizen of the world. These journals are a revelation, a road map, and a gift to us all.” —Tayari Jones, New York Times bestselling author of An American Marriage

About the Author

Alice Walker, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, is a canonical figure in American letters. She is the author of The Color Purple, The Temple of My Familiar, Horses Make a Landscape Look More Beautiful, The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart, Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart, and many other works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Her writings have been translated into more than two dozen languages, and more than fifteen million copies of her books have been sold worldwide.

Valerie Boyd was the author of the critically acclaimed biography Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston, winner of the Southern Book Award and the American Library Association’s Notable Book Award. She was the founder and director of the MFA Program in Narrative Nonfiction and the Charlayne Hunter-Gault professor of journalism at the University of Georgia. She was editor-at-large at the University of Georgia Press and senior consulting editor for The Bitter Southerner.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster (April 12, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 560 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1476773157
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1476773155
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.95 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.5 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 283 ratings

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  1. Alice Walker

    Alice Walker

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    Alice Walker (b. 1944), one of the United States’ preeminent writers, is an award-winning author of novels, stories, essays, and poetry. In 1983, Walker became the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction with her novel The Color Purple, which also won the National Book Award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland, Meridian, The Temple of My Familiar, and Possessing the Secret of Joy. In her public life, Walker has worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Valerie Boyd

    Valerie Boyd

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Valerie Boyd is author of the award-winning Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston. She is a journalism professor and the Charlayne Hunter-Gault Distinguished Writer in Residence at the University of Georgia, where she directs the low-residency MFA Program in Narrative Nonfiction.

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
283 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

lamae
5.0 out of 5 stars complex woman; worthy read
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2022
Verified Purchase
Alice Walker is a complex woman. This is a worthy read. There were moments when I saw more of myself than I wanted in her. But I am an Aquarian from the south so there's that. I love that she can be generous. She can be quite selfish but realizes it later and even knows how to sort through the source of her pain. Perhaps it is tied to her body's rhythms and what-not. The beginning and end are lumpy. I didn't understand the explaining. So not necessary. Just dive right in. Am not sure a Vol. 2 is needed. 500 pages is enough. I'd rather see a movie myself. Just before the ending when she seems to hit rewind unnecessarily she is the age I am presently 55. I loved that! I felt so seen and now I suppose she must continue so we can know the rest altho' how much we should know I am not sure. Blessings to Valerie Boyd for assisting. A capable and generous soul herself. Rest in peace. Will close with one of the many things I underlined, which is always a good sign: The key is to begin, to persevere. Work. The motivation darling will be your love of people, of the earth, and gratitude for your having been offered role and a tool in healing both. Sing! Preach, Alice.
13 people found this helpful
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Debra Eckhardt
5.0 out of 5 stars Genius in life?
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2022
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I have not yet read this book, but I am going to spend the next several hours, I'm sure, immersed in Alice Walker's life. What could be a better way to spend an afternoon? Why am I writing a review prior to reading the book? Because I saw Alice Walker's interview with Gail King this morning. In this interview, Alice Walker makes a statement (when asked) about whether she had talked to Tracy Chapman about if she (Alice Walker) would be saying anything about their relationship in her book. Alice said "no". "Why not?", said Gail King. "Because we are not talking and it's my life", said Alice Walker. Yes, I agree, Alice Walker. But, you are also providing others, worldwide, with private information about another human being without their consent. It's not just about you. You know this! It's not just about you. And...I will now read her book about her life and appreciate it and her talent and her depth. But, unless I get to the otherside, and at this book's conclusion unless I am convinced otherwise, I believe I will feel disappointed with her decision to reveal details of a love affair without the other party's permission.

.

Reserve final opinion
15 people found this helpful
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Ekkehard-Teja Wilke
5.0 out of 5 stars pleased
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2023
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pleased
One person found this helpful
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Firestarter
4.0 out of 5 stars Hmmm
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2024
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I love Alice Walker the writer, but not Alice Walker the person. I learned so much about the author reading her journals, but it also makes me look at her differently now. Maybe she should have released these after death.
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Marie LeRoy
5.0 out of 5 stars The authentic Alice Walker
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2022
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To take the journey of watching Alice Walker live her life over the course of 35 years was a truly fascinating trip. She unapologetically allowed us to meet the men and women who helped her to come to terms with the person she is today. Whatever Alice Walker’s intention was in writing this book I believe that she accomplished in letting us see that a life well lived is a life that is lived in truth, honesty and gratefulness for all the pleasures that the universe allows us to experience.
I like who Alice Walker is.
4 people found this helpful
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the optimist
5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant account of a wonderful lady!
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2022
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the history put forth by this book is easy to understand, making it the history book of all times. Yes, miss Alice will forever be my hero in so many ways... this book is every detail you'd care to know of such a significant historical person. It covers topics seldom fully understood by massive populations. Thank you for making this book available.
2 people found this helpful
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angchronicles
5.0 out of 5 stars The literary value of keeping a diary
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2022
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Valerie Boyd says Alice Walker is a faithful diarist. And the penned pages show the inner life of Alice Walker as well as her writer’s life and the love she shares. Alice Walker diary entries symbolizes the evolving identity of the Black woman.
3 people found this helpful
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filbert ford
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful look into her life
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2022
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It's so amazing to be able to get a look into the day to day personal life of an amazing artist. I've read a few entries so far, and I can't wait to delve deeper.
6 people found this helpful
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