WRITER

Alice Walker

1944 - Today

Alice Walker

Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awarded for her novel The Color Purple. Over the span of her career, Walker has published seventeen novels and short story collections, twelve non-fiction works, and collections of essays and poetry. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Alice Walker has received more than 5,604,302 page views. Her biography is available in 68 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 63 in 2019). Alice Walker is the 1,617th most popular writer (down from 1,563rd in 2019), the 2,005th most popular biography from United States (up from 2,027th in 2019) and the 176th most popular American Writer.

Memorability Metrics

5.6M
Page Views (PV)
57.84
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
68
Languages Editions (L)
1.97
Effective Languages (L*)
7.09
Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Possessing the secret of joy

Abused women, African American women, African Americans

1992

The temple of my familiar

African Americans, African Americans in fiction, Fiction

Returning frequently to Suwelo's visits to Mr. Hal and his stories about Fanny, this tale transcends time and examines such contradictions as black vs. white, man vs. woman, sexual freedom vs. sexual slavery, past vs. present, etc.

1989

Meridian

African American college students, African American college students in fiction, African American women

Set in the 1960s and 1970s, Meridian centers on Meridian Hill, a student at the fictitious Saxon College, who becomes active in the Civil Rights Movement. She becomes romantically involved with another activist, Truman Held. They have a turbulent on-and-off relationship, during which she becomes pregnant by him. After Meridian has an abortion, Truman becomes far more attached to her and longs for them to start a life together. Later, Truman becomes involved with a white woman, Lynne Rabinowitz, who is also active in the Civil Rights struggle, though perhaps for the wrong reasons. As time passes, Truman attempts, unsuccessfully, to achieve personal and financial success while Meridian continues to stay involved in the movement and fight for issues she believes deeply in.

1976

The third life of Grange Copeland

Fiction, African American men in fiction, Grandparent and child

1970

Color Purple

Fiction & Literature, Blacks, social life and customs

In Meridian, Alice Walker wrote the classic novel of the civil rights movement. Her new novel goes back to the period between the World Wars. It tells the story of two sisters: one a missionary in Africa and the other a child-wife living in the South, who sustain their loyalty and trust in each other across time, distance, and silence, in one of the most unusual and moving exchanges in fiction. The principal voice is that of Celie, who has been raped by the man she believes to be her father, robbed of her two children, and married off to a man she hates. Her sister, Nettie,e escapes the same fate and is befriended by missionaries, man and wife, who have unwittingly adopted Celie's children. Separated for thirty years, the sisters live in ignorance of each other's circumstances. Nettie's letters do not reach Celie; and so great is Celie's sense of shame that she can write only to God. But life for Celie begins to change color when her husband's lover, a remarkable woman named Shug Avery, comes to live with them. Honest, poignant, laughing, defiant, The Color Purple is a story about heroic lives, love, and the nature of God, and it breaks new ground in fiction with its portrayal of the bonding of women. ---------- Also contained in: - [The Third Life of Grange Copeland / Meridian / The Color Purple][1] [1]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL18025207W/The_Third_Life_of_Grange_Copeland_Meridian_The_Color_Purple

1982

In love & trouble

Fiction, African American women, Afro-American women

1973