A collection of early personal and political essays from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Color Purple.Includes a new letter written by the author What is a womanist? Alice Walker sets out to define the concept in this anthology of early essays and other nonfiction pieces. As she outlines it, a womanist is a person who prefers to side with the oppressed: with women, with people of color, with the poor. As a writer, Walker has always taken such people as her primary subjects, and her search for paths toward self-possession and freedom always holds out hope for the transformative power of compassion and love. Whether she&’s taking on nuclear proliferation, the promise and problems of the civil rights movement, or her own creative process, Walker always brings to bear a fearless determination to tell the truth. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Alice Walker including rare photos from the author&’s personal collection.