In 1972, Alice accepted a teaching position at Wellesley College. Here she began a women’s literature course, one of the first women’s study courses in the country. She wanted to introduce her students not only to women writers, but also to African-American women writers. Alice found Zora Neale Hurston, a much-forgotten Harlem Renaissance writer, in her search for material.
Inspired by her discovery of Hurston, Alice began to write fervently. In 1973, she published her first collection of short stories and her second book of poetry. In 1976, she published her second novel, a book chronicling the struggles of a young black woman during the civil rights movement. At the same time, her marriage to Leventhal ended.
After the publication of Meridian, Alice accepted a Guggenheim Fellowship to concentrate full time on her writing. She left her position as an editor at Ms. Magazine and headed to San Francisco.
Here, she fell in love with Robert Allen, editor of Black Scholar magazine. The two moved to a country house in Mendocino and Alice’s writing flourished. She published another book of short stories and, in 1982, finished The Color Purple.
The Color Purple went on to win the Pulitzer Prize and propelled Alice to worldwide fame. The book was made into a motion picture in 1985. Although she did not write the screenplay, Alice had an active part in the casting process and helped with various parts of the story. She was both delighted and disappointed at the finished product. Alice was impressed with the acting but the characters on the screen were no longer her own.
Over the next decade, Alice continued to publish novels, poetry and short stories. In 1996, she published a book of journal entries and essays. Through these writings, Alice works through the devastating loss of her mother, the breakup of her 13-year relationship with Robert Allen, her battles with Lyme disease and depression and her feelings of bisexuality.
Alice’s latest work, The Way Forward Is With A Broken Heart, combines autobiography with fiction as Alice explores the bindings and breakings of relationships with family, friends and lovers.
Alice Walker still lives in Mendocino, California. She is a vegetarian and a spiritual explorer who enjoys gardening and world traveling in her free time.
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