The works of Alice Walker

[Yossarian]

For shubugs.

Discuss Walker's work and life here.

[Deleted]

Thanks. I know this is bad to start off a thread about Alice Walker for gossip, but if anyone is interested in Alice Walker or The Color Purple, etc. this is scandalous.

Mommy Alice Dearest? What thaa??

In essense, Rebecca Walker has written about two books (so far) pretty much about herself and trashed Alice Walker in both, as well as greater denouncements about feminism, etc. Alice has responded by taking her out of the will... all because, get this, Rebecca had a child. Both need therapy.

I was never a fan of Alice Walker's books but yes, from her short stories and essays, I always got a self-involved streak. So for that, the apple does not fall that far from the tree. But Rebecca? She's obnoxious.

[Yossarian]

Youch. That's pretty harsh stuff to read. I'd love to know what Alice's response to this would be.

You can definitely see the ambivalence to motherhood in her works though: labor and motherhood destroys a marriage's sexuality in The Temple of my Familiar.

[Deleted]

Jun 18, 2008 19:09:56 GMT -4 Yossarian said:

Youch. That's pretty harsh stuff to read. I'd love to know what Alice's response to this would be.

You can definitely see the ambivalence to motherhood in her works though: labor and motherhood destroys a marriage's sexuality in The Temple of my Familiar.

I was thinking Temple also as well as some of her essays. I understand the daughter is traumatized by the neglect and/or mistreatment, I get that. But the essay is not even engaging and well done, so the charge that Alice Walker has eclipsed her writing is astounding. She repeats minor points repeatedly (LOL, I won't edit that to illustrate how annoying that is), she uses similar traumatic incidents to make the same points and conclusions in a disorganized way, and she comes across as a 250-pound person drunkenly flailing at a feather. Her tone is terrible and embarrassingly unforgiving in a world where we read essays to experience how people grow and come to wisdom. Her wisdom, more blaming and finger-pointing - that all her regrettable life decisions were the result of the feminist movement and that her mother didn't let her play with dolls. Is she trying to be the next Ann Coulter? For someone who employs "the personal is political" throughout this crappy essay, this is totally ironic. I Googled her and both her books are about Rebecca, Rebecca, Rebecca. She is embarrassing for someone who graduated from a university like Yale. I get it, her mom was lousy. (Obviously, since she raised someone like this.) But when a person is almost forty and is still obviously suffering childhood traumas, has money and access to all kinds of treatment, and still expresses no desire to seek help in a personal or psychological manner; because she's too busy totally using her mistreatment to totally make a buck, how can she write that she loves her child? And that too seems to be vapid and shallow - her talking about cuddles and big brown eyes. Parenthood is also about setting a good example for a child by growing to wisdom through your yes, awful experiences. Not sitting around whining like you're still 13. ETR: If David Sedaris had a bitter and humorless sister, it would be Rebecca Walker.

[Smilla]

I like Alice Walker's poetry. A lot.

[Deleted]

Actually, I should check out her poetry. In college, we studied her short stories, a few essays, and Meridian. I read the Color Purple on my own. As I recall, even in Meridian, now that I think about it, the character gives up her child, had abortions, I think gets sterilized, etc. I can see threads of what Rebecca is referencing, but woah. Also, in Rebecca's essay, she does a bit of a threadbare analysis of one for Alice Walker's poems, did you recognize that?

[sugarhigh]

OT: Which of David's sisters is bitter and humorless?

[Deleted]

Jun 20, 2008 16:26:24 GMT -4 sugarhigh said:

OT: Which of David's sisters is bitter and humorless?

Whoops, my bad. I meant to write, "If David Sedaris had a bitter and humorless sister, it would be Rebecca Walker."

[sugarhigh]

ohhh. ok.

[woodchipper]

Wow, that was pretty harsh. While I can feel sympathy for the lack of attention & care she received from her mother, I was less sympathetic by the time I got to the end of the article. Just because she thinks being a mommy is the greatest thing ever doesn't mean that it is for all women. I wonder if she would acknowledge that feminism was a great blessing for many women.