Afternoon Literary Seminar: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

THIS SESSION HAS BEEN CANCELED ALL REGISTERED ATTENDEES ARE WELCOME TO JOIN THE MONDAY EVENING SESSION ON MAY 17 AT 5:00 PM. IN ADDITION THE RECORDING OF MONDAY NIGHT'S SESSION WILL BE MADE AVAILABE TO ALL ATTENDEES.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Wow do you owe it to yourself to (re)read The Color Purple. The linguistic richness, the twist on the epistolary structure, the breadth of warm, complex characters—all of this makes The Color Purple a must-(re)read. Dive in for Walker’s amazing use of dialect alone!

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, Walker’s 1982 novel has been one of the nation’s most “challenged” books, often banned for violence and (excellent, progressive) sexual content. While all the awards are exceedingly well deserved, Kimberly mostly couldn’t believe just how smart, absorbing and inspirational the book feels in 2020.

Perhaps overshadowed by the works of Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou and even the inimitable Zora Neale Hurston—whom Walker resurrected from literary oblivion—Walker’s masterpiece deserves more attention and our careful dissection. Join Kimberly for this delicious novel, one that’s particularly important as we Americans examine longstanding thoughts about sex, race and inequity.

 Book will be shipped directly to you so that you may read it prior to the seminar. You may also choose to pick the book up at Kepler’s in Menlo Park as another option.