“Nigger”
In the Language of Love
(Turning a poison into medicine)
©2017 by Alice Walker
For all those who remind us how this works.
Pretty soon we might all be niggers -
A just karma is beginning to
snow down upon us.
Maybe you will be happier then:
to find you can indeed
live on your knees
and sometimes create… Continue reading
The name “Lucy,” which appears in the following poem, was given by paleoanthropologists to the fossilized skeleton of the most ancient, recognizably human ancestral figure ever found. A female being who lived on the African continent some three million years ago.
WINNIE MANDELA
WE LOVE YOU
by Alice Walker
Winnie Mandela
We love you.
If we had known you
In a… Continue reading
The Long Road Home
©2016 by Alice Walker
I am beginning to comprehend
the mystery
of the gift of suffering.
It is true as some
have said
that it is a crucible
in which the gold of one’s spirit
is rendered
and shines.
Ali,
you represent all of us
who stand the test of suffering
most often alone
because who can understand
who or… Continue reading
Lodestar
©2015 by Alice Walker
Here is what I believe
Will be the hardest thing
To do:
To remember
That we have
A soul.
It is so quiet
The soul
And weighs
Almost nothing.
It might flash
Across
Our dullest days
Only once or twice
In a lifetime.
That it is there:
Just the certainty
Of knowing
Must be
Our lodestar.
ESTRELLA POLAR
He… Continue reading
WHAT DOES THE AWAKENED PERSON DO?
photo by AP/David Goldman or Reuters/Randall Hill (!)
THE CIRCLE
©2015 by Alice Walker
I myself do not believe
In political parties
Comprised, generally, in my experience, of so
Many who
Are not awake. Still, all options must be
Presented by those who care.
An unbalanced wakefulness
Can be as treasonous
As blind sleep.… Continue reading
The Energy Of The Wave
For the people of Africa
(facing armored tanks and other weapons they did not make)
©2015 by Alice Walker
As a child I sensed
But did not
Grasp
The power
Of prayer.
It was my innocence
Of the depths
That kept me unaware.
How could the passion of the heart
Sent flying toward others
Through humble words
Change anything?
Or,… Continue reading
From the new book of poems:
THE WORLD WILL FOLLOW JOY: Turning Madness Into Flowers
Spring 2013
Bicycle dress guard by Simeli Ananda
What Do I Get For Getting Old?
A Picture Story
For The Curious
©2011 by Alice Walker
(You supply the pictures.)
I get to meditate
in a chair
Or against the wall
with my legs
stretched out
(or even in… Continue reading
Reading “Their Eyes Were Watching God“
After 75 years, Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” still resonates in the hearts and minds of contemporary audiences, but it had particular significance for black women writers and artists who were working at the time of its rediscovery. The Greene Space convened three luminaries who are all intimately connected to the novel —… Continue reading
©2011 by Alice Walker (words); ©2011 by Tamara Staples (art).
I love this chicken because she is so in her body. If you look into her eyes you are right to know she is not thinking of your dinner.
One of the things I especially prize is that she is missing a toenail. At first I wanted the artist to put… Continue reading
Acclaimed author, poet, feminist, activist, and, at the age of just thirty-nine, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Literature, Alice Walker is one of our most extraordinary living writers. From her discussions of black identity and feminism to ruminations on suffering and joy, Walker’s work has consistently displayed her extraordinary literary gifts, her fierce intelligence, and the deep political and spiritual convictions that… Continue reading