For those of us who tear up every time you recall reading The Color Purple, you may want to get your phones out. Save the date: Wednesday, May 25th, Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker will be at our very own Harold Washington Library. And guess what; it’s free.
The Chicago Public Library Foundation and the Chicago Public Library are thrilled to present a Carl Sandburg Literary Award to Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winner Alice Walker in a special free, public event at 6 p.m., Wednesday, May 25 in the Winter Garden of the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State, 9th Floor. The esteemed author has published more than 30 books, including novels, short stories, collections of poems and non-fiction.
Walker will come to Chicago to receive the award Wednesday, May 25, and will participate in a conversation to discuss her body of work, her influences and her creative process, hosted by Johnson Publishing Company Chairman Linda Johnson Rice, the Board Chair of the Chicago Public Library. The event is free and open to the public.
“Alice Walker’s writing has the ability to profoundly touch the reader’s soul,” said Event Co-Chair Linda Johnson Rice. “I cannot wait to have the opportunity to learn more about Ms. Walker’s inspirations and writing process, as many of her books have made lasting, transformative impressions upon me and are among my personal favorites.
Alice Walker is the author of more than 30 books, including novels, short story and poetry compilations, and non-fiction works. Her many previous awards include the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Born in Putnam County, Georgia in 1944, her parents worked as a sharecropper and maid. She began writing at age 8, and published her first book of poetry when she was a senior at Sarah Lawrence College. She has published 13 novels and short story collections, including “The Color Purple,” “By The Light of My Father’s Smile,” “Possessing the Secret of Joy,” and “Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart.” She also has written nine poetry compilations and 12 non-fiction books, including “Anything We Love Can Be Saved: A Writer’s Activism,” “Go Girl!: The Black Woman’s Book of Travel and Adventure,” “Chicken Chronicles, A Memoir,” and, most recently, “The Cushion in the Road: Meditation and Wandering as the Whole World Awakens to Being in Harm’s Way.”
Find out more about the event here.
