The World Has Changed - Conversations with Alice Walker

(Edited with an Introduction by Rudolph P. Byrd.)

Alice Walker is a fierce and formidable woman; I suspect one would not mess with her for long. These conversations and interviews range from 1973 to 2009; They are varied, always interesting, absolutely filled with details of Walker's life, especially as they relate to her writings. However, the bits and pieces of her life that are revealed, and her answers and opinions, are not presented chronologically, but rather are randomly strewn throughout the pages of this collection, and one does not exactly get a coherent, cohesive portrait of her. Still, for anyone who admires her writing, this book offers wonderful glimpses into her mind.

She was born in 1944 in Georgia, the last of 6 children. Her family was poor but knew the importance of education. She has had an amazingly creative and passionate life. Throughout these conversations, Alice was never at a loss for words. Of course, some of the questions and answers were repetitive as would naturally be the case in such a collection, but overall, the material was fresh and most definitely instructs the reader about Alice Walker, especially if, like me, one knows very little. She is articulate and expresses herself in clear forceful language, as she explains her philosophies and how she lives her life, as she talks about her writing and her involvement in society, both globally and in her quiet country homes, as she tells of her childhood, her marriage, her outrages, her admirations. She had unhesitating opinions about anything asked of her, but then much of her life IS words and language and with so much always fermenting and maturing in her mind, this is not surprising.

She is most known for The Color Purple, but has written many other books, fiction and nonfiction. She married and divorced Melvyn Leventhal and they had one daughter. While there is a ton of information in these conversations, one does not learn much about her very personal day-to-day life; however, this is not a biography. I did become curious, though, how accurately these conversations presented the real Alice Walker.

One other thing: She so admires Zora Neale Hurston who wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God and states: "My feeling is that Zora Neale Hurston is probably one of the most misunderstood, least appreciated writers of this century...A writer of courage, and incredible humor, with poetry in every line." This book has long been free-floating in my mental "must-read" pile. I'm off to the library to get it.