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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mardiste (talk | contribs) at 19:02, 13 July 2011 (→‎Vandalism). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Article draft

march 9, 1944 - still living) Alice Walker Author, activist Alice Walker, best known perhaps as the author of The Color Purple, was the eighth child of Georgia sharecroppers. After a childhood accident blinded her in one eye, she went on to become valedictorian of her local school, and attend Spelman College and Sarah Lawrence College on scholarships, graduating in 1965. She volunteered in the voter registration drives of the 1960s in Georgia, and went to work after college in the Welfare Department in New York City. She married in 1967 (and divorced in 1976); her first book of poems came out in 1968 and her first novel just after her daughter's birth in 1970. Her early poems, novels and short stories dealt with themes familiar to readers of her later works: rape, violence, isolation, troubled relationships, multi-generational perspectives, sexism and racism. When The Color Purple came out in 1982, Walker became known to an even wider audience. Her Pulitzer Prize and the movie by Steven Spielberg brought both fame and controversy. She was widely criticized for negative portrayals of men in The Color Purple, though many critics admitted that the movie presented more simplistic negative pictures than the book's more nuanced portrayals. Walker also published a biography of the poet, Langston Hughes, and worked to recover and publicize the nearly-lost works of writer Zora Neale Hurston. She's credited with introducing the word "womanist" for African American feminism. In 1989 and 1992, in two books, The Temple of My Familiar and Possessing the Secret of Joy, Walker took on the issue of female circumcision in Africa, which brought further controversy: was Walker a cultural imperialist to criticize a different culture? Her works are known for their portrayals of the African American woman's life. She depicts vividly the sexism, racism and poverty that make that life often a struggle. But she also portrays as part of that life, the strengths of family, community, self-worth, and spirituality. Many of her novels depict women in other periods of history than our own. Just as with non-fiction women's history writing, such portrayals give a sense of the differences and similarities of women's condition today and in that other time. She continues not only to write, but to be active in environmental, feminist/womanist causes, and issues of economic justice. Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender." -- Alice Walker

Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1944, in Eatonton, Georgia, the eighth and last child of Willie Lee and Minnie Lou Grant Walker, who were sharecroppers. When Alice Walker was eight years old, she lost sight of one eye when one of her older brothers shot her with a BB gun by accident. In high school, Alice Walker was valedictorian of her class, and that achievement, coupled with a "rehabilitation scholarship" made it possible for her to go to Spelman, a college for black women in Atlanta, Georgia. After spending two years at Spelman, she transferred to Sarah Lawrence College in New York, and during her junior year traveled to Africa as an exchange student. She received her bachelor of arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College in 1965. After finishing college, Walker lived for a short time in New York, then from the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s, she lived in Tougaloo, Mississippi, during which time she had a daughter, Rebecca, in 1969. Alice Walker was active in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's, and in the 1990's she is still an involved activist. She has spoken for the women's movement, the anti-apartheid movement, for the anti-nuclear movement, and against female genital mutilation. Alice Walker started her own publishing company, Wild Trees Press, in 1984. She currently resides in Northern California with her dog, Marley. She received the Pulitzer Prize in 1983 for The Color Purple. Among her numerous awards and honors are the Lillian Smith Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rosenthal Award from the National Institute of Arts & Letters, a nomination for the National Book Award, a Radcliffe Institute Fellowship, a Merrill Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Front Page Award for Best Magazine Criticism from the Newswoman's Club of New York. She also has received the Townsend Prize and a Lyndhurst Prize.

In the main article, it says she won an O. Henry award in the 80's for an article not published until 2004. Is such a thing possible?

Discussion page?

Isn't this the discussion page? The above seems to be synopsis of the article. Should it be deleted?SmokeyTheCat 15:31, 19 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think so, this is the discussion page after all. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.134.13.97 (talk) 23:38, 21 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ethnicity in the lead sentence

Per wp:mosbio, I have removed African. Do we have any sources that claim/state that Walker is notable due to her ethnicity as pointed out in a reccent edit summary? Reading the article, it looks like Walker is of mixed ethnicity, which, imho, is even more reason to describe her as an American and then go into detailed ethnic backround further into the article. Thnaks! --Tom 18:03, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I agree, and I've removed it as well. I believe that the guideline is that nationality rather than ethnicity belongs in the lead. I've also found a reliable source for her mixed ethnicity. María (críticame) 15:21, 14 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Novels

I have created entries for The Third Life of Grange Copeland and Meridian (novel). I would like the latter to be simply listed as Meridian but then it directs to the Meridian disambiguation page. Could some admin sort this out for me please? Thanks in advance.  SmokeyTheCat  •TALK• 15:38, 29 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The article Meridian (novel) is correctly named. Please see the Wikipedia:Naming conventions (books); because "Meridian" is a popular word, and many articles include the word in their title, a disambiguation page is needed in order to collect all of the "Meridian" articles together in one place in case an individual is not sure which "Meridian" article they are looking for. María (críticame) 22:57, 13 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Photo

What happened to the photo of the subject?  SmokeyTheCat  •TALK• 22:44, 13 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

By subject, do you mean Walker? I don't remember there being a photograph on the article when I began editing it, but it's possible that it was removed/deleted because of copyright issues. There's nothing at the Commons available, I know. María (críticame) 22:54, 13 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]
A photo is provided. Miranda 23:51, 24 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Short stories

I think her short stories have been largely overlooked, which is understandable due to "The Color Purple" overshadowing any other works she has written. I added in an entry about one short story, Everyday Use, and sourced the info to a textbook. I don't know if I sourced it right on the references section though. And in regards to referencing her as American, rather than African or African American, I don't know...a bit trivial perhaps? If you don't want African on the page, I'll take it off. Mike518raptor 03:45, 3 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Although I agree that her short story publications are important, your lengthy addition would better belong at the article for Everyday Use. Undue weight should not be given to any work in particular since this article is a biography of the individual and her accomplishments; not of her works in great detail. I cut your addition down to size, and strongly suggest you move some of the material, which is very interesting, to the "Everyday Use" article. María (críticame) 14:04, 3 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I agree that her short story collections deserve more of a mention. When I get my hands on them again I will add them as entries.  SmokeyTheCat  •TALK• 22:58, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Alice Walker not born in Eatonton GA

In a CSPAN BookTV interview this morning Alice Walker said she was born in "Putnam County GA and moved to Eatonton GA at the age of thirteen" Merlin1935 (talk) 13:23, 10 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Womanist

I added in the introduction that Walker prefers the word Womanist to feminist. Any objections?  SmokeyTheCat  •TALK• 22:57, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I am wondering, since she prefers and uses womanist, why we do not delete feminist altogether?Persnickety (talk) 13:23, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I have not been part of the history of this article, but agree with deleting the term "feminist" in favor of "womanist." As it stands, the text seems to be equating feminist and womanist, which is not exactly the case. It makes sense to use her own term, which Walker and others took in contrast to the term "feminist." Readers can follow the link to get a sense of the relationship of these terms. 131.238.31.40 (talk) 14:57, 17 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with the use of the term womanist for all the reasons stated, but I do not agree with deleting feminist, simply because the term does still apply to her, and she would still consider herself a feminist. Womanist is not interchangeable with feminist, nor is womanism mutually exclusive from feminism. Rather, it speaks of the particularities of the experience of being a woman of color, which present a number of differences on top of the experience of being a woman of any ethnicity. So, since the consensus is in favor of womanist, and I think I have made a case for the inclusion of both terms, I will make a slight adjustment to the language of the article to say that Walker is both. Feel free to express any objections. Godheval (talk) 21:28, 15 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ask Alice Walker your questions about The Color Purple

AW will appear on the BBC radio programme World Book Club discussing The Color Purple. The recording of the programme will be on July 23th in San Francisco (broadcast with repeats from 26th August). Here are more details and a link to email questions. [1]. EdQuine (talk) 14:41, 17 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Regarding my edit

The prior wording was ambiguous, gramatically, which could be read to mean EITHER that A.W. was viewing impact on Gza residents OR THAT the Israeli military initiative was specifically directed to Gaza residents. On the Israel side the contention is that the target was Hamas and that the residents, if by that meaning civilians residents, were collateral damage. I am fully aware that contention is debatable, but the text I changed concludes on the negative, taking the side of Israel critics. Obviously there was severe damage to the civilian folks there but the text as it stood was conclusory that it was the intent of the Operation to attack residents.

Any rebutal that Hamas is resident begs several questions. In any case, the text should not be ambiguous. Thank you for your intelligent consideration of this matter. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wikidgood (talk • contribs) 00:56, 27 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I checked the CODE PINK website to wit:

"There are over 250 local CODEPINK groups throughout the US and overseas." —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wikidgood (talk • contribs) 01:07, 27 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Project Plan

Our plan is to enrich Alice Walker’s biography. We are aiming to reach good article status. In order to do so, we must:

1. Revise the current page to create a well organized body of information 2. Include important details we feel the article currently lacks 3. Provide accurate, comprehensive and cited information and, 4. Have a clear and concise writing style.

While this article is current a B – class article, we believe there are many changes that can be made in order to improve this page.

Each individual of our group has undertaken the responsibility of re-writing the following sections:

1. Abstract, 2. Early Life 3. Education 4. Personal Life 5. Writing Career 6. Awards & Recognitions

We hope that after we have worked on this page, readers will see a positive change. It is our intention to make this page informative and accessible to anyone who visits it.


Newer posts are on the bottom 04:35, 5 April 2009 (UTC)~ STJdw April 5th, 2009 —Preceding unsigned comment added by STJdw (talk • contribs)

Rebecca Walker's Black, White and Jewish?

Hello Wiki World,

I am very interested in finding out if Alice Walker had any reaction to Rebecca Walker's memoir, "Black, White, and Jewish" at the time it was released. I want to include her comment (if any) in the article. Rebecca Walker claims that her mother neglected her and I am curious to find out if there is an valid statements that justify that to be true made by Alice Walker made herself.

I find this very interesting because, for Rebecca to be born with her fathers last name, why would you choose to go by the last name of your infamous mother that neglected you?

Any info anyone can provide regarding this would be greatly appreciated. —Preceding unsigned comment added by EEdwards22 (talk • contribs) 05:14, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Bringing Back the Early Life Section

Dear Fellow Wikipedians,

I find that the removal of Alice Walker’s “early life” does a great disservice to those who might read this to learn about her life. Because her childhood experiences and family have had a tremendous impact on her writing, I think it is important to have this section included in the article.

Therefore, I revised the section with stronger sources, more contextual information about her childhood, and it’s impact on her writing.

Best, EEdwards22 (talk) 16:13, 11 April 2009 (UTC)EEdwards22[reply]

Add Info About Archives at Emory

Walker's manuscripts and other archival material are available for research at Emory. What counts as a reliable source? I've seen other articles reference the press release of the institution, would that be alright? Something like this: Alice Walker Places Her Archive at Emory The news articles covering the subject are extremely short and all from AP. Would that be preferred?

Thanks! Emoryweb3 (talk) 21:01, 19 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Alice Walker a Buddhist

No mention of the fact that Alice Walker identifies as a Buddhist. Might be worth adding to the page if a source can be found to reference.

[[Ras Laam (talk) 02:52, 25 October 2009 (UTC)]][reply]

Not vegan.

From Alice's blog:

"And it isn’t as if I’m vegan, as Wikipedia claims. I’m just an ordinary run of the mill mostly vegetarian person who still eats chicken soup when I’m sick and roast chicken when I can’t resist."

Owen (talk) 08:24, 9 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Single works listed as collections

I have researched (briefly) the entries under Walker's works.

These seem to be single short stories (not collections)

  • Am I Blue? (1986)
  • Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self (1983)
  • The Flowers (1973)
  • Roselily (1973)
  • Everyday use

These are single poems (not collections)

  • Expect Nothing
  • Women

I have removed them from the listing. If anyone knows otherwise, please edit.

Spanglej (talk) 17:41, 31 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Alice Walker death?

Can anybody verify that Alice Walker died today (5th Feb 2010)? I can find no supporting evidence of any kind. --217.171.129.70 (talk) 13:57, 5 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I can find absolutely no evidence of the death of Alice Walker (aside from an obituary for a similarly named woman who died in January) so I have removed the death date and changed the tense to present to reflect this. This is my first edit, so I apologise if I have broken any conventions.--217.171.129.70 (talk) 14:13, 5 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Probably just vandalism. If she really has died (and what a loss to literature that would be), then legitimate news sources will start reporting at very soon. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 14:28, 5 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
That was my assumption - cheers for confirming my thoughts. =]--217.171.129.70 (talk) 14:40, 5 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

A vote to protect this article

Given that this page is vandalised nearly every day (by school kids, it seems) I would vote to put a semi protection on. It seems pointless to waste time reverting nonsense daily. What do you say and how do we do it? Spanglej (talk) 00:29, 12 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected for one month. If heavy vandalism resumes, let me know. - Darwinek (talk) 00:42, 12 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Great. Thanks. Spanglej (talk) 00:44, 12 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Cross Reference Content

Hi

Y'all should probably add something about the following:

  • she's bisexual
  • she's vegetarian
  • she did a lot for the black feminist movement (see the page on black feminism)
  • a mention of some of her philosophy (I use the word rather incorrectly). What's all this about Womanism? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.208.37.3 (talk) 02:37, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You may also want to translate some content to / from the French article.

24.208.37.3 (talk) 02:33, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Sarah Lawrence

How did Walker, a child of poor sharecroppers, end up going to the elite Sarah Lawrence College? Presumably she got some kind of scholarship/bursary? (I'm not sure what such things are called in the USA.) The article should have some mention of this. SmokeyTheCat 20:49, 23 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Walker's website says that with a scholarship "Walker enrolled at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1961, where she quickly became involved in the civil rights movement. She also developed important friendships with two teachers, the historians Howard Zinn and Staughton Lynd. With the assistance of Lynd, Walker transferred to Sarah Lawrence College in 1964" . Span (talk) 21:23, 23 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Vandalism

She has referred to the United States as a "terrorist nation". [2] BUT WHEN I PUT IN A LINK TO THIS REFERENCE, IT GETS REMOVED. THE WIKIPEDIA IS SO BIASED IT IS USELESS. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.210.160.235 (talk) 18:39, 2 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia requires text with a neutral point of view. Declaring your view that she an anti-American terrorist does not meet these guidelines. I have added in the link her June interview with Foreign Policy Magazine that you cited. It may help for you to review the basic guidelines of the Wikipedia editing. Span (talk) 20:19, 2 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]


To be fair, the edits you reverted here did not label her a terrorist. It said that she was an activist who had called the United States and Israel terrorist states. I don't know that it belongs in the introductory paragraph, but I would think it's at least fairly NPOV, unlike this person's edits this morning that I reverted that did call her a terrorist. ‡ MAHEWA ‡ • talk 22:11, 2 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]


Sorry, I didn't notice where you'd moved the information. I think where you places it under activism is fair.‡ MAHEWA ‡ • talk 22:13, 2 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]
IP 98.210.160.235 wanted the intro to read "Alice Malsenior Walker" (born February 9, 1944) is an African American author, poet, and terrorist." No editor has so far questioned whether Walker's comments from the June interview should be quotes or the article included. IP editor, you will notice that the Cluebot bot reverted several of your edits. I would also flag up the three revert rule: no editor must not make 3 reverts to an article in 24 hrs. Span (talk) 22:26, 2 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Oh, I know that the IP editor did that initially. I was the one who reverted and warned for it. I just wanted to point out that the later edits, those that you reverted, while still overemphasizing the point, were more reasonable.‡ MAHEWA ‡ • talk 22:37, 2 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

IP 98.210.160.235, you mention in your edit summary "Added "POV" tag because reliable references to interviews where she calls the United States a "terrorist nation" are edited out." The article you linked to at the Huffington Post did not link to the interview itself. I added a reference to the whole interview. I mentioned this in the edit summary. Far from removing your cite, I expanded it. I don't think "critic of the US" is a job title. It seems balanced to state, as it does under Alice Walker#Activism, that she "described the United States and Israel as a terrorist nations". No doubt there should be more detail in the article about her civil rights, feminist advocacy etc but articles develop over time. Span (talk) 23:14, 2 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure what this edit war is about. Alice Walker definitely did refer to the United States as a "terrorist state" in a public speech several years ago. Is the editor disputing this or simply asking for a footnote?

I've heard her speak in person twice. The first time I thought she was brilliant and was totally with her. The second time I was actually was kind of amazed that anyone could possibly stretch the phrase "THE JEWS" into four syllables and then wait for applause. (I honestly wish I was kidding about this, but I'm not.) Mardiste (talk) 19:02, 13 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

NPOV

I added the POV tag because Walker apologists are refusing to allow references to reputable sources where she says that the United States is a "terrorist state." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.210.160.235 (talk) 22:04, 2 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

See Alice_Walker#Activism. Just because it's not mentioned in the first paragraph doesn't mean it's not NPOV. --Mithrandir∞ (Talk!) (Opus Operis) 22:11, 2 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]


Added it back. Not to define her as a critic of the United States, when that is how she currently gets most of her income and publicity, is a bias 98.210.160.235 (talk) 22:55, 2 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

"a critic of the United States… that is how she currently gets most of her income and publicity" do you have any reliable citations to back up this claim? Prunesqualor billets_doux 23:46, 2 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Currently, the last sentence in the intro section, which reads "She is a critic of her own country, the United States, calling it a "terrorist country" and is involved in controversial flotilla missions to aid and abet entities recognized as terrorist organizations by the United States and the European Union". This seems rather inappropriate. Surly this doesn’t belong in the lead but in the "activism" section. Also a more balanced and considered explanation of her views is warranted. Prunesqualor billets_doux 00:00, 3 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Wrong section for "protesting" sentence?

Surly the line in the "writing Career" section, about her "protesting the Toronto Film Festival's City to City spotlight", belongs rather in the "Activism" section? Prunesqualor billets_doux 00:05, 3 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I moved it up. Span (talk) 13:16, 3 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks Span Prunesqualor billets_doux 18:01, 3 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Revert War

User: 98.210.160.235 has received a 24-hour ban for edit warring. Because the discsussion yesterday seemed to reflect 3 people who believe that the information the IP editor thought needed to be in the first paragraph, I am removing it from that section, except including that she is an activist. If the IP user wants to expand on the information in the activism section (without calling her a terrorist), I think that's fine. But if he tries to add material back to the first paragraph without obtaining consensus, I think the page should be put put up for protection. ‡ MAHEWA ‡ • talk 12:35, 3 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

That's good. I was keeping an eye on the IP as some of the edits have been appalling (e.g. [3]) expecting to have to take it to ANI. Sean.hoyland - talk 13:08, 3 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Mahewa. Span (talk) 13:16, 3 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Edit request from 98.210.160.235, 4 July 2011

The fact that they have scrubbed out any mention of her political activism, or her sharp criticism of the United States is REPREHENSIBLE. Open your eyes! CAN'T YOU SEE THE BIAS AND HYPOCRISY in not allowing any well-sourced references to her criticism of the United States and not listing her as a "political activist." I'm asking my congressman to investigate. Wikipedia should be blocked from all public schools.

98.210.160.235 (talk) 17:27, 4 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The article starts with
  • Alice Malsenior Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an African American author, poet, and activist.
The Activism section includes the following information.
In a June 2011 interview, Walker described the United States and Israel as "terrorist organizations" stating "When you terrorize people, when you make them so afraid of you that they are just mentally and psychologically wounded for life -- that's terrorism."[15]
That is enough weight for this issue.
Wikipedia is not your soapbox. See WP:SOAP. Sean.hoyland - talk 17:36, 4 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]
 Not done: Jnorton7558 (talk) 22:18, 4 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You are a dishonest liar. This comment was made BEFORE someone decided to add back something about Alice Walker's activism and her remarks about the United States being a "terrorist country." This is a very significant point of view for a person as influential and highly-regarded as Ms. Walker to make, and deserves mention. She directly called the United States a "terrorist country" yet the article soft-pedals and that significant quote was edited out repeatedly24.7.26.52 (talk) 00:59, 7 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

No, your comment was made while the information was in the article and it is still in the article. Your comment's time stamp is 17:27, 4 July 2011 (UTC) and here is the version of the article at 04:58, 4 July 2011. It includes the information. The next edit to the article was at 00:19, 6 July 2011 and no edits have removed the information since. It's wrong to describe people as dishonest liars when it can easily be shown that they are not dishonest liars, don't you know that? Sean.hoyland - talk 04:12, 7 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]
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