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Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker, 1965–2000
From National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize–winning author Alice Walker and edited by critic and writer Valerie Boyd, comes an unprecedented compilation of Walker’s fifty years of journals drawing an intimate portrait of her development over five decades as an artist, human rights and women’s activist, and intellectual.
For the first time, the edited journals of Alice Walker are gathered together to reflect the complex, passionate, talented, and acclaimed Pulitzer Prize winner of The Color Purple. She intimately explores her thoughts and feelings as a woman, a writer, an African-American, a wife, a daughter, a mother, a lover, a sister, a friend, a citizen of the world.
In an unvarnished and singular voice, she explores an astonishing array of marching in Mississippi with other foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr.; her marriage to a Jewish lawyer, defying laws that barred interracial marriage in the 1960s South; an early miscarriage; writing her first novel; the trials and triumphs of the Women’s Movement; erotic encounters and enduring relationships; the ancestral visits that led her to write The Color Purple ; winning the Pulitzer Prize; being admired and maligned, sometimes in equal measure, for her work and her activism; and burying her mother. A powerful blend of Walker’s personal life with political events, this revealing collection offers rare insight into a literary legend.
For the first time, the edited journals of Alice Walker are gathered together to reflect the complex, passionate, talented, and acclaimed Pulitzer Prize winner of The Color Purple. She intimately explores her thoughts and feelings as a woman, a writer, an African-American, a wife, a daughter, a mother, a lover, a sister, a friend, a citizen of the world.
In an unvarnished and singular voice, she explores an astonishing array of marching in Mississippi with other foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr.; her marriage to a Jewish lawyer, defying laws that barred interracial marriage in the 1960s South; an early miscarriage; writing her first novel; the trials and triumphs of the Women’s Movement; erotic encounters and enduring relationships; the ancestral visits that led her to write The Color Purple ; winning the Pulitzer Prize; being admired and maligned, sometimes in equal measure, for her work and her activism; and burying her mother. A powerful blend of Walker’s personal life with political events, this revealing collection offers rare insight into a literary legend.
560 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2020
183 people are currently reading
9951 people want to read
About the author
Alice Walker
244 books7,267 followersNoted American writer Alice Walker won a Pulitzer Prize for her stance against racism and sexism in such novels as
The Color Purple
(1982).
People awarded this preeminent author of stories, essays, and poetry of the United States. In 1983, this first African woman for fiction also received the national book award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland , Meridian , The Temple of My Familiar , and Possessing the Secret of Joy . In public life, Walker worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.
People awarded this preeminent author of stories, essays, and poetry of the United States. In 1983, this first African woman for fiction also received the national book award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland , Meridian , The Temple of My Familiar , and Possessing the Secret of Joy . In public life, Walker worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.
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November 17, 2021
“How incredible in some ways it is to thirst for pen and paper, to need them, as if they were water.”
There is a point in the life arc of a prolific and talented author when the writer himself/herself becomes the story. Mark Twain, Langston Hughes, and James Baldwin come to mind. Studies are made on their technique. Courses are taught on their material. Biographies (authorized and unauthorized) are written on their lives. And, if the author kept such things, journals and diaries are published.
“People have called me brave so often that I almost believe it - if fear is brave I am brave.”
There is an intimacy in journals, if they’re written openly and honestly, that one does not find in biographies. This is not Alice Walker recounting and reflecting on things that happened fifty years ago. This is Alice Walker at that particular moment in time. A snapshot, if you will, of a fascinating life in progress.
The Alice Walker of the 1960s had convictions…
“…the South will rise again—but as a nation of men and not a lot of finky little Confederate flagwavers who don’t know Sherman from Grant.”
The Alice Walker of the 1970s had opinions…
“…Ayn Rand will forever be incompatible with black people.”
The Alice Walker of the 1980s had awareness (and a HUGE crush on Quincy Jones)…
“I finally admitted to myself how hurt and frustrated I am by some of the more vicious reviews. I find the unfairness particularly hard to bear. Mostly white male critics who obviously don’t understand that my metaphysics includes them even though theirs has never included me.”
The Alice Walker of the 1990s had insight…
“Each time I vaguely think of turning on the white man’s voice—radio or t.v.—I think Nah. What a joy to inhabit the world without its fake joviality, its treacherous (canned) laughter. Its relentless effort to make violence normal. Its hatred & fear of everyone & everything. Its sugary poison.”
This intimate glimpse into Alice Walker’s existence spans but thirty five years, 1965 - 2000. Seeing as how this complex and vivacious spirt is happily still with us, ‘Alice Part Two’ is undoubtedly already in the works. I, for one, can’t wait.
“…what will America look like when—if ever—it is united and happy!? I will not live to see that day, but the dream of it must be planted…”
There is a point in the life arc of a prolific and talented author when the writer himself/herself becomes the story. Mark Twain, Langston Hughes, and James Baldwin come to mind. Studies are made on their technique. Courses are taught on their material. Biographies (authorized and unauthorized) are written on their lives. And, if the author kept such things, journals and diaries are published.
“People have called me brave so often that I almost believe it - if fear is brave I am brave.”
There is an intimacy in journals, if they’re written openly and honestly, that one does not find in biographies. This is not Alice Walker recounting and reflecting on things that happened fifty years ago. This is Alice Walker at that particular moment in time. A snapshot, if you will, of a fascinating life in progress.
The Alice Walker of the 1960s had convictions…
“…the South will rise again—but as a nation of men and not a lot of finky little Confederate flagwavers who don’t know Sherman from Grant.”
The Alice Walker of the 1970s had opinions…
“…Ayn Rand will forever be incompatible with black people.”
The Alice Walker of the 1980s had awareness (and a HUGE crush on Quincy Jones)…
“I finally admitted to myself how hurt and frustrated I am by some of the more vicious reviews. I find the unfairness particularly hard to bear. Mostly white male critics who obviously don’t understand that my metaphysics includes them even though theirs has never included me.”
The Alice Walker of the 1990s had insight…
“Each time I vaguely think of turning on the white man’s voice—radio or t.v.—I think Nah. What a joy to inhabit the world without its fake joviality, its treacherous (canned) laughter. Its relentless effort to make violence normal. Its hatred & fear of everyone & everything. Its sugary poison.”
This intimate glimpse into Alice Walker’s existence spans but thirty five years, 1965 - 2000. Seeing as how this complex and vivacious spirt is happily still with us, ‘Alice Part Two’ is undoubtedly already in the works. I, for one, can’t wait.
“…what will America look like when—if ever—it is united and happy!? I will not live to see that day, but the dream of it must be planted…”
April 10, 2022
What if you had the opportunity to read fifty (50) years worth of sixty-five (65) journals and notebooks from a Pulitzer Prize-winning author? Well you WILL in exactly one week!
For the first time ever, the edited journals of Alice Walker are gathered like blossoms for your reading pleasure. Journal entries from 1965-2000 reflect her complex, passionate, intimate details of her life as an award-winning author, artist, writer, human rights activist, women's advocate, friend, daughter, lover, wife, mother and citizen.
An array of events are shared with such great detail as if they happened yesterday. She explores how it felt to march in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement, her interracial marriage in the South, the trials and triumphs of being a Black woman, enduring relationships both erotic and toxic, her bond with only daughter, the making of The Color Purple and insight into each decade.
Listen...I enjoyed Gathering Blossoms Under Fire more than any fiction she ever wrote. Classics included! It is something about her open thoughts, vulnerable prose, nonjudgmental observations and perception of life that was addicting to read. It kept me interested throughout and even prompted my own journal entries when it came to financial goals/savings. (Yes, she even shared personal budget entries!)
The format of Gathering Blossoms Under Fire is genius! Organized by decade, it is easy to follow and witness her personal growth. Major social issues are addressed and her opinion is not minced. It feels like a gift to read the diary of a literary legend. I dare not spoil its contents so let me stop this review here. Bookhearts, please know The Journals of Alice Walker is recommended to all Bookhearts that appreciate the work of Great Black American novelists.
Happy Early Pub Day, Alice Walker! Gathering Blossoms Under Fire will be available Tuesday, April 12.
~LiteraryMarie
For the first time ever, the edited journals of Alice Walker are gathered like blossoms for your reading pleasure. Journal entries from 1965-2000 reflect her complex, passionate, intimate details of her life as an award-winning author, artist, writer, human rights activist, women's advocate, friend, daughter, lover, wife, mother and citizen.
An array of events are shared with such great detail as if they happened yesterday. She explores how it felt to march in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement, her interracial marriage in the South, the trials and triumphs of being a Black woman, enduring relationships both erotic and toxic, her bond with only daughter, the making of The Color Purple and insight into each decade.
Listen...I enjoyed Gathering Blossoms Under Fire more than any fiction she ever wrote. Classics included! It is something about her open thoughts, vulnerable prose, nonjudgmental observations and perception of life that was addicting to read. It kept me interested throughout and even prompted my own journal entries when it came to financial goals/savings. (Yes, she even shared personal budget entries!)
The format of Gathering Blossoms Under Fire is genius! Organized by decade, it is easy to follow and witness her personal growth. Major social issues are addressed and her opinion is not minced. It feels like a gift to read the diary of a literary legend. I dare not spoil its contents so let me stop this review here. Bookhearts, please know The Journals of Alice Walker is recommended to all Bookhearts that appreciate the work of Great Black American novelists.
Happy Early Pub Day, Alice Walker! Gathering Blossoms Under Fire will be available Tuesday, April 12.
~LiteraryMarie
February 18, 2022
“The evil in the world continues to astound, but so does the courage of the human spirit to express itself at even higher levels of compassion & hope. This keeps us going, though exhaustion is a constant companion.”
Going into these journals, I had a narrow understanding of who Alice Walker is. I’d known about her success with The Color Purple, her partial blindness due to a childhood accident, and her work to preserve Zora Neale Hurston’s legacy. I now have a more intimate understanding of the prolific writer and womanist that she is.
These journal entries are remarkable – 560 pages that span the 60s to the 2000s, capturing her thoughts on relationships and marriage, motherhood, career and finances, her body, friendships, activism, spirituality, and (bi)sexuality. She reveals an incredible amount of detail about her life: Her insecurities, disappointments, how her views, body, and relationships evolved (including with her mother, ex-husband, and daughter). Walker wrote a great deal about the makings of The Color Purple, and fans of it may appreciate learning about development of the storyline and characters. She also spent time exposing the cruelty of FGM after spending time in Africa for TCP. She critiques other writers and notes their impact on her in life and death. Was surprised to see her open up about her crush on Quincy Jones and (formerly private) relationship with Tracy Chapman.
Appreciate learning that “And of course, there will be a volume two.” and look forward to reading about her life over the last 20+ years.
Many thanks to Alice Walker, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an early copy in exchange for an honest review before its release on April 12, 2022.
Going into these journals, I had a narrow understanding of who Alice Walker is. I’d known about her success with The Color Purple, her partial blindness due to a childhood accident, and her work to preserve Zora Neale Hurston’s legacy. I now have a more intimate understanding of the prolific writer and womanist that she is.
These journal entries are remarkable – 560 pages that span the 60s to the 2000s, capturing her thoughts on relationships and marriage, motherhood, career and finances, her body, friendships, activism, spirituality, and (bi)sexuality. She reveals an incredible amount of detail about her life: Her insecurities, disappointments, how her views, body, and relationships evolved (including with her mother, ex-husband, and daughter). Walker wrote a great deal about the makings of The Color Purple, and fans of it may appreciate learning about development of the storyline and characters. She also spent time exposing the cruelty of FGM after spending time in Africa for TCP. She critiques other writers and notes their impact on her in life and death. Was surprised to see her open up about her crush on Quincy Jones and (formerly private) relationship with Tracy Chapman.
Appreciate learning that “And of course, there will be a volume two.” and look forward to reading about her life over the last 20+ years.
Many thanks to Alice Walker, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an early copy in exchange for an honest review before its release on April 12, 2022.
November 18, 2024
In Praise of Nosiness?
I should start by apologising for what is going to be a long review. Publications of journals and diaries mostly tend to be posthumous affairs, and so it’s with a sense of guilt at intruding (even when there’s tacit understanding that they were meant for an audience) that I usually read the private thoughts of writers and artists. But this aside I am nosy, and I do like to know things, and to be in the know; even when I have no practical use for the knowledge acquired other than satiating curiosity. Still, it always seems as though I’m peeping past the writer’s shoulder while she scribbles at her journals, and every now and then turns to give me a withering look upon which I shrink back chastised before returning to look past that shoulder again. So these journals by Alice Walker are ideal for me: they are journals published with the permission and assistance of the author while they’re still living, and big and rich in all the information that is to be found in them.
Alice Walker is a prominent writer and activist who has been working for seven decades now and these journals cover five of these decades (1965-2000). Chronicling one’s life in journals, especially when done with the knowledge of future publication as was the case here, requires candour–at the very least with oneself, as well as an openness to one’s own failings, and some courage at the possible judgements and misjudgements from readers.
An interesting aspect of the journals I’ve chosen to highlight is Walker’s relationship with her contemporary writers, specifically Toni Morrison. The two writers were among the few Black writers who found both mainstream commercial and critical success. I am more familiar with Morrison’s work (I have read nine of her novels and a collection of essays, several of these books have become favourites of mine); these journals aside, I have only read two of Walker’s books (The Third Life of Grange Copeland, which I really liked and is a favourite and hope to revisit; and The Color Purple, which I liked well enough but don’t necessarily feel like rereading). Alice Walker’s relationship with Toni Morrison is one that’s characterised by friendly feeling as well as, I think, a very human envy in the journals. Despite expectations of hostility between them (interestingly, Quincy Jones comments on this to Alice Walker in a phone call she later notes in her journal) and of two artists from a marginalised community having a loathing for each other, the two were friendly towards each other and seemed to like each other, and Alice Walker has praised Toni Morrison’s work and Toni Morrison has defended Walker’s in an interview I recall. Yet there are instances where I think the very human envy reveals itself.
For instance:
Important to point out that this entry was from November of 1979, before the success of The Color Purple, and the popularity and acclaim that came afterwards. But in all the instances, and to Walker’s credit they are few, it was always when Toni Morrison had some kind of recognition and success that she gave such a compliment-criticism combo.
Another example, earlier the same year of 1979, in the month of May, when she learns of Toni Morrison bagging quite the sum of money for her book:
Wonderful self-admission coupled, of course, with the same criticism which seems to be a way of coping with a contemporary doing well, especially when one is financially uncertain as Walker was in this period. The journal entry continues:
Then The Color Purple arrives and changes Walker’s life, literally. The financial anxieties and worries abate. And yet, when Morrison gains another achievement:
What makes part of this interesting is that her criticism of Morrison’s work was always, from what I’ve read at least, private, while the praise, up until Toni’s death a few years ago, was public. I’m sure Toni herself must have had criticism for Walker’s work, but that too must have been private as I am yet to find explicit criticism. And if I remember correctly (it must have been an interview which I haven’t been able to find again) she mentioned something about Black women writers from that period resisting the call to tear each other apart publicly as they were baited to when their writing gained more attention during the 1970s, 80s and well into the 90s. But if anything, these notes humanise Walker since envy is a very human emotion, and one that’s difficult to confront, let alone admit to, as Walker does in her way, and chronicle and later publish for the public.
Of course this isn’t all there is in these journals that number almost 600 pages, and my highlighting these entries is purely out of my proclivity for what I think to be dramatic and messy. There are lots of important literary and political figures mentioned who Alice Walker interacted with other than Morrison: Angela Davis, Assata Shakur, Mumia Abu-Jamal, June Jordan, Tillie Olsen, Bessie Head, Ayi Kwei Armah, Ishmael Reed, Paule Marshall, Quincy Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, among others, and the relationships Walker had with some of them weren’t always friendly; as well as her love for and with Tracy Chapman wonderfully documented here, as well as her other loves.
Reading these entries seemed like viewing multiple self-portraits of Alice Walker as she changed in certain ways and remained the same in others as the years passed; as she recognised and became more confident in her bisexuality; as she developed her spirituality that even for an agnostic like me was beautiful to witness bloom. I also had the feeling of being behind, inside, and ahead of time as I saw certain relationships form, disintegrate, rebuild; even, as in cases where information trickles in beyond this book’s last entry such as is the case of Alice Walker and her daughter Rebecca (their very public and televised spat in the mid 2000s and their later reconciliation as of present).
I have to appreciate, yet again, the level of candour and openness here. Her honesty during her periods of financial uncertainty and how she breaks down her income from publications and honorariums was refreshing to see. However, there is a big shift when the money comes in, and though Walker is generous and shares among family and friends which creates another complexity in her relationships, her becoming a benefactress of sorts, the constant mentions of all the houses she begins to purchase (even with the self-analysis, with the help of therapy, examining the roots of this in her growing up poor and in a small shack) becomes tedious at some point.
There are many good things Walker has done aside from the books she’s written: her work in reviving Zora Neale Hurston and her work and reintroducing and introducing her to an even bigger audience than she had in her lifetime, her work against FGM, her work championing civil rights and her feminism, her work for the Palestinian cause, and others. And also I still feel the same way she does as she writes of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes in these journals: “I love Langston, though he has on occasion disappointed me. I love Zora though she has done the same.” Disappointment on my part having to do with Walker’s strange relationship and admiration for the antisemitic conspiracy theorist David Icke (I don’t understand how her rightful criticism and condemnation of Zionist ideology and the apartheid conditions it has had on Palestinians which of present manifests in unending massacres, merged with the ridiculous thoughts of someone who believes in reptilian shapeshifters), and her more recent transphobic (although backpedalled or apologised for?) comments in defence of J.K. Rowling in her blog. Neither the antisemitism nor the transphobia find their way in this book though.
Still, this book is a marvellous treasure trove that chronicles the personal, artistic, and professional development of a writer. There is also something strangely touching in witnessing a writer become a success that I felt reading this book. I can’t finish this review without mentioning Valerie Boyd, the editor of these journals, who collaborated with Walker, and who unfortunately died before this book’s publication. Her work as a medium, guiding the reader, reminding and drawing connections with subtlety and without interrupting or disrupting narration, was incredible.
I should start by apologising for what is going to be a long review. Publications of journals and diaries mostly tend to be posthumous affairs, and so it’s with a sense of guilt at intruding (even when there’s tacit understanding that they were meant for an audience) that I usually read the private thoughts of writers and artists. But this aside I am nosy, and I do like to know things, and to be in the know; even when I have no practical use for the knowledge acquired other than satiating curiosity. Still, it always seems as though I’m peeping past the writer’s shoulder while she scribbles at her journals, and every now and then turns to give me a withering look upon which I shrink back chastised before returning to look past that shoulder again. So these journals by Alice Walker are ideal for me: they are journals published with the permission and assistance of the author while they’re still living, and big and rich in all the information that is to be found in them.
Alice Walker is a prominent writer and activist who has been working for seven decades now and these journals cover five of these decades (1965-2000). Chronicling one’s life in journals, especially when done with the knowledge of future publication as was the case here, requires candour–at the very least with oneself, as well as an openness to one’s own failings, and some courage at the possible judgements and misjudgements from readers.
An interesting aspect of the journals I’ve chosen to highlight is Walker’s relationship with her contemporary writers, specifically Toni Morrison. The two writers were among the few Black writers who found both mainstream commercial and critical success. I am more familiar with Morrison’s work (I have read nine of her novels and a collection of essays, several of these books have become favourites of mine); these journals aside, I have only read two of Walker’s books (The Third Life of Grange Copeland, which I really liked and is a favourite and hope to revisit; and The Color Purple, which I liked well enough but don’t necessarily feel like rereading). Alice Walker’s relationship with Toni Morrison is one that’s characterised by friendly feeling as well as, I think, a very human envy in the journals. Despite expectations of hostility between them (interestingly, Quincy Jones comments on this to Alice Walker in a phone call she later notes in her journal) and of two artists from a marginalised community having a loathing for each other, the two were friendly towards each other and seemed to like each other, and Alice Walker has praised Toni Morrison’s work and Toni Morrison has defended Walker’s in an interview I recall. Yet there are instances where I think the very human envy reveals itself.
For instance:
“Am annoyed that my neighbor, an English teacher, doesn’t know my work—but is reading Toni Morrison whom he compares to Steinbeck & Faulkner. Sula was given to him by a friend he says who asked him to read it and render an opinion. I said I felt Sula was beautifully written but unfinished. Underdeveloped, really. But then I stopped—because I realized reading a black woman writer was quite new to him—but also I just felt weary of it all. The nagging need to feel “successful”—the ups & downs, emotionally, of being “somebody.”
Important to point out that this entry was from November of 1979, before the success of The Color Purple, and the popularity and acclaim that came afterwards. But in all the instances, and to Walker’s credit they are few, it was always when Toni Morrison had some kind of recognition and success that she gave such a compliment-criticism combo.
Another example, earlier the same year of 1979, in the month of May, when she learns of Toni Morrison bagging quite the sum of money for her book:
“Today Mary Helen sent me a Times piece on Toni Morrison. It is really very good. Gives a sense of Toni’s moods & resilience & self, which interviews do not always convey. She sold paperback rights to Song of Solomon for over $300,000.00. I’ve been looking inside myself to see how I feel about this. A little jealous? A little envious? Probably. But on the other hand, it helps that she writes so beautifully—even if I feel her characters never go anywhere. They are created, I feel, so they might legitimately exist. And that’s art, for sure, but not inspiration, direction, struggle.”
Wonderful self-admission coupled, of course, with the same criticism which seems to be a way of coping with a contemporary doing well, especially when one is financially uncertain as Walker was in this period. The journal entry continues:
“Besides, I have chosen to struggle for peace of mind, the inner spirit, & inner life. And for happiness & peace. And I’ve started on the path…toward the life that works for me. Blessed. Robert loves me & I love him & Rebecca. And life is good. I resent the little flashes of dis-ease when I hear the loud hosannas & the large $ figures. I have everything I need. Why do I feel—when hearing of others’ riches—it is not enough? It is no doubt the programming. Always want more than you have. Of everything. More food. More clothing. More praise. More money. And yet, more of all these could not make me more happy. Because I am happy already.”
Then The Color Purple arrives and changes Walker’s life, literally. The financial anxieties and worries abate. And yet, when Morrison gains another achievement:
“Toni Morrison won the Nobel prize today… Everyone has been clamoring for a comment. So I jotted one down & gave it to Joan to disperse. It says something like this:
“No one writes more beautifully than Toni Morrison. She has consistently explored issues of true complexity & terror & love in the lives of African Americans. Harsh criticism has not dissuaded her. Prizes have not trapped her.
“She is a writer well deserving of this honor.”
….
Tracy [Chapman] & I were in bed when the call came—we spent most of last night “making up” after our stormy camping trip—and when I got back into bed after listening to the message machine, I told her of my ambivalence. That there’s no feminist consciousness (except in Sula, which I like a lot) in her work and that it is beautiful without moving you anywhere. She liked Song of Solomon very much, which I didn’t. Anyway, she said “better Toni than some white man or woman who isn’t half as good.” And I agree. Anyway I sent flowers and a note to Toni. And I hope she is happy, as Tracy says she later heard over the radio.
What makes part of this interesting is that her criticism of Morrison’s work was always, from what I’ve read at least, private, while the praise, up until Toni’s death a few years ago, was public. I’m sure Toni herself must have had criticism for Walker’s work, but that too must have been private as I am yet to find explicit criticism. And if I remember correctly (it must have been an interview which I haven’t been able to find again) she mentioned something about Black women writers from that period resisting the call to tear each other apart publicly as they were baited to when their writing gained more attention during the 1970s, 80s and well into the 90s. But if anything, these notes humanise Walker since envy is a very human emotion, and one that’s difficult to confront, let alone admit to, as Walker does in her way, and chronicle and later publish for the public.
Of course this isn’t all there is in these journals that number almost 600 pages, and my highlighting these entries is purely out of my proclivity for what I think to be dramatic and messy. There are lots of important literary and political figures mentioned who Alice Walker interacted with other than Morrison: Angela Davis, Assata Shakur, Mumia Abu-Jamal, June Jordan, Tillie Olsen, Bessie Head, Ayi Kwei Armah, Ishmael Reed, Paule Marshall, Quincy Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, among others, and the relationships Walker had with some of them weren’t always friendly; as well as her love for and with Tracy Chapman wonderfully documented here, as well as her other loves.
Reading these entries seemed like viewing multiple self-portraits of Alice Walker as she changed in certain ways and remained the same in others as the years passed; as she recognised and became more confident in her bisexuality; as she developed her spirituality that even for an agnostic like me was beautiful to witness bloom. I also had the feeling of being behind, inside, and ahead of time as I saw certain relationships form, disintegrate, rebuild; even, as in cases where information trickles in beyond this book’s last entry such as is the case of Alice Walker and her daughter Rebecca (their very public and televised spat in the mid 2000s and their later reconciliation as of present).
I have to appreciate, yet again, the level of candour and openness here. Her honesty during her periods of financial uncertainty and how she breaks down her income from publications and honorariums was refreshing to see. However, there is a big shift when the money comes in, and though Walker is generous and shares among family and friends which creates another complexity in her relationships, her becoming a benefactress of sorts, the constant mentions of all the houses she begins to purchase (even with the self-analysis, with the help of therapy, examining the roots of this in her growing up poor and in a small shack) becomes tedious at some point.
There are many good things Walker has done aside from the books she’s written: her work in reviving Zora Neale Hurston and her work and reintroducing and introducing her to an even bigger audience than she had in her lifetime, her work against FGM, her work championing civil rights and her feminism, her work for the Palestinian cause, and others. And also I still feel the same way she does as she writes of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes in these journals: “I love Langston, though he has on occasion disappointed me. I love Zora though she has done the same.” Disappointment on my part having to do with Walker’s strange relationship and admiration for the antisemitic conspiracy theorist David Icke (I don’t understand how her rightful criticism and condemnation of Zionist ideology and the apartheid conditions it has had on Palestinians which of present manifests in unending massacres, merged with the ridiculous thoughts of someone who believes in reptilian shapeshifters), and her more recent transphobic (although backpedalled or apologised for?) comments in defence of J.K. Rowling in her blog. Neither the antisemitism nor the transphobia find their way in this book though.
Still, this book is a marvellous treasure trove that chronicles the personal, artistic, and professional development of a writer. There is also something strangely touching in witnessing a writer become a success that I felt reading this book. I can’t finish this review without mentioning Valerie Boyd, the editor of these journals, who collaborated with Walker, and who unfortunately died before this book’s publication. Her work as a medium, guiding the reader, reminding and drawing connections with subtlety and without interrupting or disrupting narration, was incredible.
December 21, 2024
The way it took me more than 2 years to finish reading/annotating this lol
Both woo woo and wise, and salaciously self-centered, Walker is a marvel. Loved her musings on her relationships, and interesting to read about her friendships with other writers and her obsession with owning houses. Glad I took so long, I needed different parts of this at different times.
Both woo woo and wise, and salaciously self-centered, Walker is a marvel. Loved her musings on her relationships, and interesting to read about her friendships with other writers and her obsession with owning houses. Glad I took so long, I needed different parts of this at different times.
October 28, 2022
I give myself 5 stars for actually getting through this book! I really enjoyed reading AW's thoughts on life and aging, although the last decade wasn't as reflective and literary as the first three parts. When reading, it felt that AW didn't want the reader to like her but to understand her as a black bisexual woman, and as a flawed human being interacting with other flawed human beings. Her journals bring amazing insight to society and culture from the 60-90's, and it was amazing to read about how full her life was of both tragedy and success.
October 26, 2022
I was in touch for years with Valerie Boyd, who edited this book with her dear friend Alice Walker. Sadly, Valerie passed away in February, just before her many years long labor of love's publication date. Instead of a traditional review, I want to share some of the comments I made to Valerie while I was reading an advance copy of the book:
".......... I love that she sort of self- references THIS book or self-prophecies it in a way, talking about Anais Nin's journals at one point and wanting to describe things better and elaborate more, knowing that others may be reading it all someday, the someday has come, a magical moment sandwiched in between two time points, almost as if the Alice of today can somehow send back messages of hope and encouragement to her earlier self and say "hang in there, keep going........" a fabulous book ........ "
"...... her experiences are indeed universal for the most part, excepting maybe just her experience with fame etc."
"The reality is that she is famous, with whatever that implies in our strange world today.............. The book is so.fine Valerie, it was a bit how I imagined it would be, and a bit very different from my expectations of what I would.find there, yet breathtaking AS IT IS regardless of what people expect or.do.not expect to find there. My only wish was that it could be longer or complete even, yet I.know that is not.possible at this point..........the fact that I want to keep.going, to.read more, is testimony enough in a way....... we live in such a perceptually programmed world, and it is important that people.be JOLTED even.by what they find in Alice's viewpoint , she is not.only an elder, but strikingly a very old soul, someone who lives a completely.normal.life as we all do, with.all the ups and downs inherent in that, yet in another fashion, her work is something.like a lighthouse, a beacon from the FUTURE or.from a wiser sort of.inner world, that calls back.to the present.time, whispering reminders of who.we really are and what path can get us back.there...........that is what is in between the lines in all the work of hers, and especially in.the journals, but one who has resistance to that or.zero awareness of.it, will only see hot tubs and the therapist and steamy love affairs, they cannot sense the underneath that is there, at times so obviously."
"Even the bitchy sarcastic type of entries are great and so endearing and funny.....I love the entry about editor Kate Medina with her "you betcha" white peopleness thing, and also how at one point she wrote that Rebecca talks too.much and gets on her nerves..............real and endearing and laugh out loud funny really...... wonderful.....no one can accuse you of hagiography!!!"
----------
Obviously, I really loved the book and am.sorry Valerie did not have the chance to go.out.into the world and promote it alongside Alice, as they had planned.........I.am grateful I.got to.share my thoughts on the book with Valerie before she passed, and I hope my thoughts that I shared with her made up a type of review, for you, the potential reader.
".......... I love that she sort of self- references THIS book or self-prophecies it in a way, talking about Anais Nin's journals at one point and wanting to describe things better and elaborate more, knowing that others may be reading it all someday, the someday has come, a magical moment sandwiched in between two time points, almost as if the Alice of today can somehow send back messages of hope and encouragement to her earlier self and say "hang in there, keep going........" a fabulous book ........ "
"...... her experiences are indeed universal for the most part, excepting maybe just her experience with fame etc."
"The reality is that she is famous, with whatever that implies in our strange world today.............. The book is so.fine Valerie, it was a bit how I imagined it would be, and a bit very different from my expectations of what I would.find there, yet breathtaking AS IT IS regardless of what people expect or.do.not expect to find there. My only wish was that it could be longer or complete even, yet I.know that is not.possible at this point..........the fact that I want to keep.going, to.read more, is testimony enough in a way....... we live in such a perceptually programmed world, and it is important that people.be JOLTED even.by what they find in Alice's viewpoint , she is not.only an elder, but strikingly a very old soul, someone who lives a completely.normal.life as we all do, with.all the ups and downs inherent in that, yet in another fashion, her work is something.like a lighthouse, a beacon from the FUTURE or.from a wiser sort of.inner world, that calls back.to the present.time, whispering reminders of who.we really are and what path can get us back.there...........that is what is in between the lines in all the work of hers, and especially in.the journals, but one who has resistance to that or.zero awareness of.it, will only see hot tubs and the therapist and steamy love affairs, they cannot sense the underneath that is there, at times so obviously."
"Even the bitchy sarcastic type of entries are great and so endearing and funny.....I love the entry about editor Kate Medina with her "you betcha" white peopleness thing, and also how at one point she wrote that Rebecca talks too.much and gets on her nerves..............real and endearing and laugh out loud funny really...... wonderful.....no one can accuse you of hagiography!!!"
----------
Obviously, I really loved the book and am.sorry Valerie did not have the chance to go.out.into the world and promote it alongside Alice, as they had planned.........I.am grateful I.got to.share my thoughts on the book with Valerie before she passed, and I hope my thoughts that I shared with her made up a type of review, for you, the potential reader.
May 28, 2022
Man This book was Looong and gooood!
Gathering Blossoms Under Fire is the story of the journals of Alice Walker we get to know and learn more about her life during that period. there were many things I didn't know about Alice and this book really made me learn and understand more about her.
She is an amazing woman, amazing to a level that I can easily compare her with many of the strong feminist archetypes we have like Frida Khalo and Joan of arc, she always expelled strength and intelligence that's how I felt by reading her book, she is a woman with so much love and kindness to give but I feel like many took advantage of this.
Her relationships were always like a roller coaster, I felt like at times I couldn't keep up with what mood she was going to show for the next chapter but still, you could always feel through the pages the amount of power and strength she has.
Alice Walker, a famous writer whose famous novel the color of purple was made into a famous movie (i know I already wrote too many famous) with many great artists like Ophra and Whoopie Goldberg we get to relive all those years through the pages of Gathering Blossoms, her loves, her disappointments, her friendships, her family drama, and joys, her ups, and downs, the need or the feeling of comfort she felt whenever she bought a house.
Gathering Blossoms will take you through Alice's daily life, her love for Quincy, and Tracy, and the many heartaches she had during her marriage and after that with her lovers. she also describes the relationship with her daughter Rebbeca, they constantly had ups and downs, I felt like Rebbeca kept the blame for so long but hey everybody digests things differently, but still, I always felt like she was coming back to the same story even if we already read she was having a good relationship with Alice a few chapters later the drama will start all over again.
I cried with Alice, I laugh and also got angry so many characters were really at times very immature, I kept getting angry with Mel a lot, the way he treated Rebecca once he got a "new" partner was terrible I really dislike him so much when he was acting like that.
The part that I really enjoyed so much was the times she spend in Mexico, in the Careyes house, I love the way she describes her love for the country.
I feel like my review doesn't say enough about how wonderful this book is, I wish I could express more about it but this always happens whenever I love a book I don't have enough words to say what I really want to say.
Overall, I really enjoyed getting to know more about this beautiful woman, her talents, her dreams, her taste and likes, her kindness, and the way she always embraced everybody it was like you always felt welcome by her.
Thank you, Alice, for your journals for letting us see a piece of your heart, you're a beautiful soulful queen.
Thank you, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy of Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker 1965-2000 in exchange for my honest review.
Gathering Blossoms Under Fire is the story of the journals of Alice Walker we get to know and learn more about her life during that period. there were many things I didn't know about Alice and this book really made me learn and understand more about her.
She is an amazing woman, amazing to a level that I can easily compare her with many of the strong feminist archetypes we have like Frida Khalo and Joan of arc, she always expelled strength and intelligence that's how I felt by reading her book, she is a woman with so much love and kindness to give but I feel like many took advantage of this.
Her relationships were always like a roller coaster, I felt like at times I couldn't keep up with what mood she was going to show for the next chapter but still, you could always feel through the pages the amount of power and strength she has.
Alice Walker, a famous writer whose famous novel the color of purple was made into a famous movie (i know I already wrote too many famous) with many great artists like Ophra and Whoopie Goldberg we get to relive all those years through the pages of Gathering Blossoms, her loves, her disappointments, her friendships, her family drama, and joys, her ups, and downs, the need or the feeling of comfort she felt whenever she bought a house.
Gathering Blossoms will take you through Alice's daily life, her love for Quincy, and Tracy, and the many heartaches she had during her marriage and after that with her lovers. she also describes the relationship with her daughter Rebbeca, they constantly had ups and downs, I felt like Rebbeca kept the blame for so long but hey everybody digests things differently, but still, I always felt like she was coming back to the same story even if we already read she was having a good relationship with Alice a few chapters later the drama will start all over again.
I cried with Alice, I laugh and also got angry so many characters were really at times very immature, I kept getting angry with Mel a lot, the way he treated Rebecca once he got a "new" partner was terrible I really dislike him so much when he was acting like that.
The part that I really enjoyed so much was the times she spend in Mexico, in the Careyes house, I love the way she describes her love for the country.
I feel like my review doesn't say enough about how wonderful this book is, I wish I could express more about it but this always happens whenever I love a book I don't have enough words to say what I really want to say.
Overall, I really enjoyed getting to know more about this beautiful woman, her talents, her dreams, her taste and likes, her kindness, and the way she always embraced everybody it was like you always felt welcome by her.
Thank you, Alice, for your journals for letting us see a piece of your heart, you're a beautiful soulful queen.
Thank you, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy of Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker 1965-2000 in exchange for my honest review.
October 3, 2022
I considered myself extremely lucky to win this book, which I received today. I am looking forward to reading it and can't wait to finish. Thank you so much!!
September 11, 2022
I HAVE AN ARC! MY LIFE IS COMPLETE! Review coming in February!!!
February 21, 2024
This was a beautiful look at Alice Walker the person! I heard her speak not long ago and she is just a beautiful spirit! I hope to dive into her works more this year!
January 17, 2023
A person’s diaries are simultaneously intensely personal, and an attempt to be known. You are recording the minutiae of your days, your innermost thoughts and your uncensored feelings. Committing these things to paper is often a private time of reflection, but at the same time, the act of recording these things carries with it an acknowledgment that they may someday be read by another.
To publish one’s edited journals in one’s lifetime, as Alice Walker did, takes a degree of courage and I respect her for that. The span of years (1960’s-2000ish) covered in these journals are, for me, contemporary and interesting.
I give this book only three stars merely for the fact that I didn’t enjoy reading it very much. This was partly due to my expectations. I had hoped for more reflections on Walker’s writing process, etc, but this was more day-to-day stuff. I felt that it could have used some more editing of the mundane, but again, it is a diary.
You do get a sense of Walker’s lifeview through the journals:
God: She grows from proclaimed atheistic views in her 20s, to a spirituality in her 50’s. Near the end of the book, she seems to be experimenting with drugs designed for spiritual awakening and her writings seem stoned and nonsensical to me.
Race: She often appears blatantly racist to me, something she does not believe that she can be. But she expresses contempt for her white audiences, judgement for “mulattos,” (despite the fact that she has a mixed race child), and makes a lot of generalizations. She calls her mother a colorist and was wounded by some of the ways that her mom expressed her thoughts about skin color.
Depression: A lifelong struggle, something she fights against constantly. She views suicide as a basic human right, and so views life as a choice to live rather than a choice to die.
Money: never stops worrying that she will run out, even while she is wealthy and established, owning multiple homes. She is alternately stingy, and easily taken advantage of.
Marriage/sexuality: Quite the mess here, she often seems to be her own worst enemy. She often seems contemptuous of her partners. She struggles with the simultaneous desire to be independent and to be supported, nurtured and cared for. She seems selfish in many of her relationships to me. She is married, divorced, in a long-term open relationship with a man, obsessed for several years with Quincy Jones, then in a few successive relationships with women. Many of her lovers seem like users to me, or people who are not equal to Alice in some way in her own mind.
Parenting: Alice treats her daughter as she treats her lovers…intense love alternating with periods of separation. This seems to be what Alice needs, but it leaves Rebecca with feelings of abandonment. They are estranged for a period of time, but they work it out.
Some wisdom from Alice, on various topics, that I enjoyed:
“Friendship is a matter of choice, a commitment to love another person who is unlike you, unrelated to you in any way.” -Alice Walker
“I’m afraid I saw more of what is not there than what is there, and have been mourning the characters & events that were lost in the editing or never attempted from the book. There were scenes I didn’t like, but many that I loved. But in order to know what I truly feel about The Color Purple film I’ll have to see it again, perhaps many times, when I am able to be more open to what it is rather than grieving over what it is not.”
“And over the years in my life & in my work, I’ve struggled with this conflict: how to love a dictator & a torturer. It wasn’t until I saw the movie many times that I fully realized I had been longing & needing to be able to love my grandfather even as he was when he did the worst things”
“All the houses in the world can’t make you happy if they’re empty.”
“Together we can dream & build an America & a world where everybody writes & everybody reads & everybody paints & everybody makes music & nobody is afraid.”
“Adversity often makes us know what we believe. That is, what we both believe and will stick to.”
“And I realize this is, to me, the best kind of writing—the writing which seems to be simply the writing down of a story overheard.”
“Wonder if I’ll ever learn, in my body, that it is the anticipation of awfulness that is awful.”
POETRY
As long as I love life
and as long as life continues
to hurt me with its cruelty
its indifference and its beauty
I will write poems.
Where once I thought
I was ugly
I now perceive myself
to be
a woman to fit my needs
my feet no larger
than my shoe.
::::;:::
Whoever you are
Whatever you are
Start with tha
Whether salt of
The earth
Or only white
Sugar.
To publish one’s edited journals in one’s lifetime, as Alice Walker did, takes a degree of courage and I respect her for that. The span of years (1960’s-2000ish) covered in these journals are, for me, contemporary and interesting.
I give this book only three stars merely for the fact that I didn’t enjoy reading it very much. This was partly due to my expectations. I had hoped for more reflections on Walker’s writing process, etc, but this was more day-to-day stuff. I felt that it could have used some more editing of the mundane, but again, it is a diary.
You do get a sense of Walker’s lifeview through the journals:
God: She grows from proclaimed atheistic views in her 20s, to a spirituality in her 50’s. Near the end of the book, she seems to be experimenting with drugs designed for spiritual awakening and her writings seem stoned and nonsensical to me.
Race: She often appears blatantly racist to me, something she does not believe that she can be. But she expresses contempt for her white audiences, judgement for “mulattos,” (despite the fact that she has a mixed race child), and makes a lot of generalizations. She calls her mother a colorist and was wounded by some of the ways that her mom expressed her thoughts about skin color.
Depression: A lifelong struggle, something she fights against constantly. She views suicide as a basic human right, and so views life as a choice to live rather than a choice to die.
Money: never stops worrying that she will run out, even while she is wealthy and established, owning multiple homes. She is alternately stingy, and easily taken advantage of.
Marriage/sexuality: Quite the mess here, she often seems to be her own worst enemy. She often seems contemptuous of her partners. She struggles with the simultaneous desire to be independent and to be supported, nurtured and cared for. She seems selfish in many of her relationships to me. She is married, divorced, in a long-term open relationship with a man, obsessed for several years with Quincy Jones, then in a few successive relationships with women. Many of her lovers seem like users to me, or people who are not equal to Alice in some way in her own mind.
Parenting: Alice treats her daughter as she treats her lovers…intense love alternating with periods of separation. This seems to be what Alice needs, but it leaves Rebecca with feelings of abandonment. They are estranged for a period of time, but they work it out.
Some wisdom from Alice, on various topics, that I enjoyed:
“Friendship is a matter of choice, a commitment to love another person who is unlike you, unrelated to you in any way.” -Alice Walker
“I’m afraid I saw more of what is not there than what is there, and have been mourning the characters & events that were lost in the editing or never attempted from the book. There were scenes I didn’t like, but many that I loved. But in order to know what I truly feel about The Color Purple film I’ll have to see it again, perhaps many times, when I am able to be more open to what it is rather than grieving over what it is not.”
“And over the years in my life & in my work, I’ve struggled with this conflict: how to love a dictator & a torturer. It wasn’t until I saw the movie many times that I fully realized I had been longing & needing to be able to love my grandfather even as he was when he did the worst things”
“All the houses in the world can’t make you happy if they’re empty.”
“Together we can dream & build an America & a world where everybody writes & everybody reads & everybody paints & everybody makes music & nobody is afraid.”
“Adversity often makes us know what we believe. That is, what we both believe and will stick to.”
“And I realize this is, to me, the best kind of writing—the writing which seems to be simply the writing down of a story overheard.”
“Wonder if I’ll ever learn, in my body, that it is the anticipation of awfulness that is awful.”
POETRY
As long as I love life
and as long as life continues
to hurt me with its cruelty
its indifference and its beauty
I will write poems.
Where once I thought
I was ugly
I now perceive myself
to be
a woman to fit my needs
my feet no larger
than my shoe.
::::;:::
Whoever you are
Whatever you are
Start with tha
Whether salt of
The earth
Or only white
Sugar.
March 19, 2023
I liked the parts about her creative process in forming The Color Purple. I also appreciated her comments about the struggles of professional Black women and the "haters" who showed up when she earned success. I was disappointed by her lack of contentment with anything in her life. The repetition of this restlessness made the book a little longer and slower.
December 28, 2019
I LOVE THIS BOOK
May 3, 2022
Alice Walker's books make for much better reading than her journals. I was bored reading about her periods and inability to make up her mind about Mel and Robert. The book was too long.
August 6, 2022
As soon as I found out that Alice Walker had published a volume of her journals, I immediately bought it. I was eager to read about the time surrounding The Color Purple's release and when I finally arrived at the point in her journals, I so appreciated reading about what those characters meant to her and how she felt about publishing, her Pulitzer Prize, and the movie release as well.
Still, what I annotated the most were passages where she spoke about love, relationships, and sexuality. In journal writing, one of the goals should be honesty - still I was struck by how honest and even apologetic Walker was. I admire those qualities so much. She seems like a woman very much secure with herself and her place in the world. It's such an honor and even an intimate experience to be able to read someone's private thoughts and musings, and Walker's thoughts about motherhood, spirituality, and solitude are still heavily on my mind.
I'm so glad I took my time reading this. And I'm even more thankful that another volume of Alice Walker's journals is forthcoming.
Still, what I annotated the most were passages where she spoke about love, relationships, and sexuality. In journal writing, one of the goals should be honesty - still I was struck by how honest and even apologetic Walker was. I admire those qualities so much. She seems like a woman very much secure with herself and her place in the world. It's such an honor and even an intimate experience to be able to read someone's private thoughts and musings, and Walker's thoughts about motherhood, spirituality, and solitude are still heavily on my mind.
I'm so glad I took my time reading this. And I'm even more thankful that another volume of Alice Walker's journals is forthcoming.
November 4, 2023
Ik las de dagboeken 1965 - 2000 van Alice Walker in vertaling door P. Van Der Lecq en Pauline Slot. Ik ontdekte door haar dagboek-boek dat ik toch niet alles van haar heb gelezen. Wel veel. Ze staat ook zeer hoog op mijn lijstje van belangrijke 'denkers' en schrijvers. Een tipje van de sluier oplichten, is geen spoiler: ik noem me nooit 'feminist' ( AW lanceerde het woord 'womanist'). Ik noem me zelden 'lesbisch' immers in haar essays benoemde AW deze keuze als 'full woman'. Vooral haar essay 'de tuinen van onze moeders' is me altijd bijgebleven. De eerste maal dat ik eindelijk begreep hoe vervreemdend 'naar school gaan, leren lezen en schrijven en later unief volgen' voor mij was. Nooit hoorde of ik leerde ik over mijn ouders, hun leven, hun belevenissen..... AW heeft mijn denken diep-zwart gemaakt. En natuurlijk is het leuk om haar verliefdheid, liefdesverdriet en gekibbel voor, tijdens en na de relatie met Tracy Chapman te lezen terwijl de CD's van die andere mooie singer-song writer opstaat....
August 27, 2024
***1/2
Fier draagt ze haar naam "Walker", als eerbetoon aan haar overgrootmoeder, die met 2 kinderen op de heupen, naar de plantage wandelde, voortgetrokken aan een halsketting.
Afro-amerikaanse mannen raadt ze aan om afro-amerikaanse vrouwen te lezen voor meer begrip. Ook voor me was deze selectie dagboekfragmenten, man zijnde, een "openbaring".
Vaak wrong het, homeopathie, spiritualiteit, boeddhisme, sjamanen, het experimenteren met geestesverruimende middelen, de invloed van hormonale schommelingen, conflictueuze relaties zijn nu niet de themapaden die ik bewandel.
Na een lange tocht, is er veel meer begrip.
Fier draagt ze haar naam "Walker", als eerbetoon aan haar overgrootmoeder, die met 2 kinderen op de heupen, naar de plantage wandelde, voortgetrokken aan een halsketting.
Afro-amerikaanse mannen raadt ze aan om afro-amerikaanse vrouwen te lezen voor meer begrip. Ook voor me was deze selectie dagboekfragmenten, man zijnde, een "openbaring".
Vaak wrong het, homeopathie, spiritualiteit, boeddhisme, sjamanen, het experimenteren met geestesverruimende middelen, de invloed van hormonale schommelingen, conflictueuze relaties zijn nu niet de themapaden die ik bewandel.
Na een lange tocht, is er veel meer begrip.
January 2, 2022
I enjoyed this book because this a journal written with heart and soul. Some authors write books “assuming” what a person was thinking at the time and why they acted in particular ways. There is no guessing between the lines. This journal is bold and heartfelt.
Alice Walker reflects on everything and everyone in her life. Much of what she writes reminds me of what I heard on the news more than 50 years ago and what the country went through during my teenage years.
1968 “…to me there are no white people only white minds”. I remember thinking things would change, and sadly they haven’t.
In the 70s she writes of emotions: sadness, joy, anger, and sexual feelings. She expresses in words we can all understand in our coming of age; the ways we carry our early lives into our adult lives.
During the 80s she writes of reconciliations, strong feelings for others in her life, and coping with struggles in relationships.
Her life is full of acquaintances and close relationships with writers and poets, singers, directors, and movie stars, politicians and world leaders; all names we recognize in history. I find it interesting how much input she had in all the workings of ‘The Color Purple’. She expressed the importance of who the actors were, the music used, and writing the screenplay. At the same time she has many close family relationship issues to deal with.
With her success come feelings of having too much. She is also frustrated with reviews and her reactions to those. She becomes tired of silly questions from journalists. “She spoke as if black women writers only write about “the black situation” which, after all, is itself becoming more & more everybody’s.”
In the 90s she falls in love with a singer feeling as though he has written songs which are addressed to her. At this point I took a break reading the book and watched a documentary about the person she is writing about.
“Dream, Dec. 1990”
“I could not bear to leave this dream out of the book! In fact, what will America look like when—if ever—it is united and happy?”
Something to ponder even today in 2022. In her journal she relays her strife growing up in the South, communal living with hippies, and her wealth from successes. The book covers important life lessons, moments of creation, imagination, and savored moments with relatives, dear friends, and innermost relationships. ‘Gathering Blossoms Under Fire’ should be on your to-read list for 2022.
Alice Walker reflects on everything and everyone in her life. Much of what she writes reminds me of what I heard on the news more than 50 years ago and what the country went through during my teenage years.
1968 “…to me there are no white people only white minds”. I remember thinking things would change, and sadly they haven’t.
In the 70s she writes of emotions: sadness, joy, anger, and sexual feelings. She expresses in words we can all understand in our coming of age; the ways we carry our early lives into our adult lives.
During the 80s she writes of reconciliations, strong feelings for others in her life, and coping with struggles in relationships.
Her life is full of acquaintances and close relationships with writers and poets, singers, directors, and movie stars, politicians and world leaders; all names we recognize in history. I find it interesting how much input she had in all the workings of ‘The Color Purple’. She expressed the importance of who the actors were, the music used, and writing the screenplay. At the same time she has many close family relationship issues to deal with.
With her success come feelings of having too much. She is also frustrated with reviews and her reactions to those. She becomes tired of silly questions from journalists. “She spoke as if black women writers only write about “the black situation” which, after all, is itself becoming more & more everybody’s.”
In the 90s she falls in love with a singer feeling as though he has written songs which are addressed to her. At this point I took a break reading the book and watched a documentary about the person she is writing about.
“Dream, Dec. 1990”
“I could not bear to leave this dream out of the book! In fact, what will America look like when—if ever—it is united and happy?”
Something to ponder even today in 2022. In her journal she relays her strife growing up in the South, communal living with hippies, and her wealth from successes. The book covers important life lessons, moments of creation, imagination, and savored moments with relatives, dear friends, and innermost relationships. ‘Gathering Blossoms Under Fire’ should be on your to-read list for 2022.
February 28, 2022
I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from reading Alice Walker’s journal entries. I think, sometimes, we have a utopian view of our literary loves and believe them to come out of the womb as glorious writers with no struggle with how to write, what to write, how to find time to write, and so on and so on. Maybe it’s a reflection of what we hope for ourselves…the no struggle writing dreamworld. Reading Alice Walker’s journals grounded me in the reality of a writer’s life, but also in a woman’s life, one who dares to defy convention as a woman of color, as a mother, as a wife, and as an artist. Throughout the pages, I could feel the tension between what convention demanded of her and what her soul required in order for her to survive, not just as an artist, but as a living being in this physical world. There is just so much within these pages that spoke to me, but most prominent was how Ms. Walker continued to choose herself despite how difficult it was to do so; how shaped her life on her terms. She did not say “I cannot do this” when coming up against a racist, sexist culture, but instead did what needed to be done. She learned how to be financially secure one step at a time while bringing into the physical world the dreams she had for herself. I appreciated the inclusion of the struggle with relationships, the exploration of sexuality on her own terms, and the difficulties that being financially wealthy can bring to a person. Ms. Walker pulled back the curtain, dispelled the facade, and said “here’s my human experience in all its messy, glorious ups and downs, curves and cliffs,” and I’m so glad that she did.
February 21, 2022
Gathering Blossoms Under Fire
The Journals of Alice Walker, 1965–2000
by Alice Walker
Pub Date 12 Apr 2022
Simon & Schuster
Biographies & Memoirs | Nonfiction (Adult)
I am reviewing a copy of Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker, 1965-2000
I was more than excited, when I was accepted as a reviewer through Netgalley And Simon and Schuster for Gathering Blossoms Under Fire, and I can say I was not disappointed, where I can’t say I agreed with every aspect of the journals, I can say I enjoyed the book immensely, and read it over a period of several days, drawn into the life o this remarkably talented woman, and writer.
For the first time we get an intimate look into Alice Walker’s life from the period of 1965-2000 through her journals. The critically claimed author of A Color Purple gives us an intimate look into her thoughts and feelings over different aspects of her life, her thoughts, and her feelings as a woman, a writer, an African American as well as a wife, a daughter, a mother, a lover, a sister, a friend, a citizen of the world.
In a singular voice these journals allow us to get an understanding of her thoughts and feelings as she explores an astonishing array of events, she took part in from marching with the other foot soldiers of the a wife, a daughter, a mother, a lover, a sister, a friend, a citizen of the world.
I give Gathering Blossoms Under Fire five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
The Journals of Alice Walker, 1965–2000
by Alice Walker
Pub Date 12 Apr 2022
Simon & Schuster
Biographies & Memoirs | Nonfiction (Adult)
I am reviewing a copy of Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker, 1965-2000
I was more than excited, when I was accepted as a reviewer through Netgalley And Simon and Schuster for Gathering Blossoms Under Fire, and I can say I was not disappointed, where I can’t say I agreed with every aspect of the journals, I can say I enjoyed the book immensely, and read it over a period of several days, drawn into the life o this remarkably talented woman, and writer.
For the first time we get an intimate look into Alice Walker’s life from the period of 1965-2000 through her journals. The critically claimed author of A Color Purple gives us an intimate look into her thoughts and feelings over different aspects of her life, her thoughts, and her feelings as a woman, a writer, an African American as well as a wife, a daughter, a mother, a lover, a sister, a friend, a citizen of the world.
In a singular voice these journals allow us to get an understanding of her thoughts and feelings as she explores an astonishing array of events, she took part in from marching with the other foot soldiers of the a wife, a daughter, a mother, a lover, a sister, a friend, a citizen of the world.
I give Gathering Blossoms Under Fire five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
November 7, 2022
Alice Walker introduced me to the idea of womanism my freshman year in college, and changed the way I saw the world forever. She brought Zora Neale Hurston back from an unmarked grave into publication, and gave me my favorite novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. I don't even have words for what she does with words as a writer. I picked up this collection of her journals mostly to honor that legacy in my life, but once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. To see a woman/writer/activist's evolution is amazing. To read her inner thoughts, her struggles with self-doubt, motherhood, money, petty jealousies and big dreams, how to love real people in real life, how to balance the need for connection with the need for solitude, to see her make bad choices and big decisions and find her way through - is so powerful. Really grateful for this.
March 16, 2024
This collection of journals spanning over 3o years was rich, full, and most of all, so human. I loved Alice Walker's work before, but now, I have a deeper appreciation for her and how she's chosen to live her life and engage with the world. She has certainly lived! It's written at the end of the book that there will be a Volume 2 and I absolutely can not wait for it. The footnotes are also gems and can easily offer one years of people, places, and things to further explore after finishing the book. Absolutely recommend.
May 14, 2022
An amazing documentation of the life, loves and longings of Alice Walker!
Initially I feel the book did not offer as much context about Walker’s life as I may have wanted, but as the journals continued to develop- so too did my understandings of Walker’s journaling style. That being said - I may now have to go off and read a biography of Walker also!
I have never felt I have so clearly been given a view into the life of an artist and icon - allowed to see her love and her love fail, allowed to see her contradict herself and be vulnerable. A truly amazing compilation.
Initially I feel the book did not offer as much context about Walker’s life as I may have wanted, but as the journals continued to develop- so too did my understandings of Walker’s journaling style. That being said - I may now have to go off and read a biography of Walker also!
I have never felt I have so clearly been given a view into the life of an artist and icon - allowed to see her love and her love fail, allowed to see her contradict herself and be vulnerable. A truly amazing compilation.
February 9, 2023
Alice Walker's journal entries are numerous, because she is a writer who writes all of the time. This book is a blessing to writers and her fans. It covers 1965 - 2000 and didn't want it to end. I follow her blog now, AliceWalkersGarden.com.
June 6, 2023
Alice Walker has lived a storied life. While one can write a biography on aspects of her life we find significant, being able to enter her mind via journal is illuminating. We find her struggling during the Civil Rights Movement, insisting on living in the South despite its hardships. We see her create The Color Purple as well as her incredulity at winning the Pulitzer (she didn't know there was a Pulitzer Prize for fiction and thought it was a joke). We see her at peace with her accomplishments.Â
February 25, 2022
Alice Walker has long been in my top two list of favorite authors. Her writing deeply resonates with me on a personal level. I am grateful that she has allowed her journals to be published and devoured every word. It was fascinating to be able to read her innermost thoughts especially during very turbulent timed in this country. Many thanks to Simon & Shuster and NetGalley for the ARC..
January 26, 2023
Vulnerable and brave telling over decades
April 11, 2022
Alice Walker’s journals are an awe-inspiring collection. They range from her early twenties all the way into her fifties, and you get the chance to follow along her whole adult life, a rare written journey. Starting in 1965 and ending in 2000 the world around her changes dramatically, but my favorite part was how her focus shifted inwards.
In her younger years she was more concerned about world issues and politics, but as she ages she focuses much more on personal relationships, on what’s best for herself, and connecting with nature. She learns lessons and thinks through situations through her writing, and another cool aspect was seeing her develop ideas for future published works. I really enjoyed this journal and I believe anyone who wishes to be a successful writer would enjoy reading Alice Walker’s journals.
Thank you to the publisher Simon and Schuster for providing an eARC of this book via NetGalley for review.
In her younger years she was more concerned about world issues and politics, but as she ages she focuses much more on personal relationships, on what’s best for herself, and connecting with nature. She learns lessons and thinks through situations through her writing, and another cool aspect was seeing her develop ideas for future published works. I really enjoyed this journal and I believe anyone who wishes to be a successful writer would enjoy reading Alice Walker’s journals.
Thank you to the publisher Simon and Schuster for providing an eARC of this book via NetGalley for review.
June 3, 2025
Het hier en nu
Omvat vroeger en later
Het geheim van de verandering
schuilt in hoe we omgaan
Met dit huidige moment.
Omvat vroeger en later
Het geheim van de verandering
schuilt in hoe we omgaan
Met dit huidige moment.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews