Introduction to Alice Walker: Author & Poet

Introduction to Alice Walker: Author & Poet
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Before beginning a study of the novel The Color Purple, it is a great idea to have students take a close look at the author, and even engage in an “author study” using some of her poetry before moving on to her novel. In that way, students are already familiar with the over-arching themes of her writing before they begin to take a close look at the characters on the page, now made famous by both a movie and a musical.

Alice Walker is much more than the creator of that memorable character Celie. Although best known for this novel, her life and her poetry all speak to the oppression of women, especially African-American women, and offer insight and advice to women from all cultures who have been oppressed, especially by abusive men. Miss Walker is an inspiration to women of all ages, races and cultures and as such, it is imperative that students devote some time to studying this American author and poetess.

Before beginning her novel, take a look at three of Walker’s poems. In my class I used the poems Be Nobody’s Darling, Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit, and Torture. These are all available online at poemhunter.com.

Put students in groups of three and use the overview power point on Walker as a starting point. Then, give each group of three one of her poems to read and discuss. Have them jot down what they “see” when they read the poem. After a time, switch poems amongst the groups until each group has read and ‘seen” each poem.

Then, have your groups of students make poetry pictures, using collage materials or their own drawings, depicting what they saw in each of Walker’s poems. Have students submitted their work to you, with the poem titles on the back. Display all over the room and have students discuss each picture, and see if they can correctly identify the poem the picture captures. This innovative project will help students to better “see” all the symbolism when they begin to read Walker’s novel.

Download

<strong>Who is Alice Walker? PowerPoint Download</strong>

References

This post is part of the series: “The Color Purple”: Lesson Plans for Students in 11th or 12th Grade

“The Color Purple” by Alice Walker is a simple to read, but deals with mature and complex subject matter. This material is appropriate for mature students in 11th or 12th grade or an AP English class.

  1. Who Is Alice Walker? High School English Lesson
  2. Introduction to &ldquo;The Color Purple&rdquo;: Lesson Plan for 11th or 12th Grade English
  3. &ldquo;The Color Purple&rdquo;: High School Lesson on Comparing the Book &amp; the Film
  4. Teaching Point of View in &ldquo;The Color Purple&rdquo;: High School English Lesson