Voices soften to a whisper among those gathered in Galloway United Methodist Church in Jackson, Mississippi, on this hot Saturday in August. It takes but a second for award-winning author Alice Walker’s face to appear on the vast screen centered beneath the church organ’s pipes. Applause erupts. Her smile, her voice, and her entire countenance leave the crowd breathless—we are in the presence of literary prominence. I no longer fret over Walker canceling her in-person conversation at Mississippi’s Book Festival, as she quickly draws me in. For the next hour, I will drink from the well of Walker’s wisdom.
Today, moderator Kiese Laymon (author of Long Division) thanks his mentor for “feeding the art of Mississippi” and inspiring him as an artist. He begins by commenting on Walker’s (very) personal history finding a home between the pages of her journal, Gathering Blossoms Under Fire, published earlier this year. A wistful tone slips into Walker’s voice as she recalls growing up as a sharecropper’s daughter in Georgia, her childhood filled with the struggle of having no permanent home. Often, her family “had to be out of town by sundown.”
I ask myself, who is Alice Walker? While it is a well-known fact that she’s the first African American woman to receive a Pulitzer Prize (1983) for her novel, The Color Purple, and has penned a vast collection of books, poetry, essays, and short stories, there’s more. Walker remains an activist (somewhat controversial) even to this day. I wonder if she’ll speak about participating in freedom marches in the mid-60s, as described in her journal. Really, how does one sum up a creative life spanning nearly eighty years in less than two hours?
This woman’s poise immediately puts everyone at ease—she speaks of love and how it must be manifested. “Love is the basis of growth, survival,” she says. Addressing the writers in the crowd, Walker encourages them to mirror love by creating their unique form of “good medicine.”
“Listen and respond to the creative voices within you,” she advises. Even if it means turning things upside down. At one point, Walker shares that she left New York City because she had stopped hearing the voices. “You can’t hear anything there. For my entire life, I’ve positioned myself to receive and share the medicine.”
Guiding the conversation for more specifics about her writing, Laymon asks if Walker sees herself in any of her characters. She answers, “You are often writing a version of you…though you may not have become that person just yet. You can’t avoid glimpsing great freedom for yourself.”
Regarding writers establishing a pathway to success, Walker warns: “Don’t hang out with people who produce terrible work—Don’t go near them.” Remember, fellow award-winning author Toni Morrison (Beloved) was in Walker’s circle of trust—i.e., the Sisterhood. Now, that’s certainly keeping good company with another author. She cautions writers to remain disciplined and encourages them to become their own best critics. “Are we ever in our own court?”
Speaking of being a critic, Walker’s first reaction to the movie version of The Color Purple was displeasure. “Everything was wrong with the movie. It was too big, too loud. The white house was not right.” But when Walker saw it later through the lens of friends and family, she viewed it differently. Walker adds that she and Steven Spielberg, the movie’s producer, never did share the same vision.
As the discussion ends, Walker offers more life advice: “Learn to be joyful. Don’t talk about the things you have. Talk about what you are instead. And trust life to propel you forward.”
Her final words leave a lasting impression: “We are a dangerous sort, we writers.”
Yes, as a writer, I agree, for we are Truthsayers. And truth be told, we expect truth from others. We craft characters who speak the truth, live the truth, alongside others who hide their truths, so we recognize when people do the same. We are a sensitive sort too. Every emotion we experience inches through our entire being—flows through our fingers, and shows up on a page, if not today, then one day.
What an enriching experience, Alice Walker. It’s been an honor to spend an hour in your presence.
Deborah-
Thank you for sharing the wisdom of Alice Walker. It sounds like a very inspirational event.
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