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Alice Walker

Alice Walker Quotes

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Alice Walker is a renowned American author born on February 9, 1944. Her works are known for their profound social criticism and feminist ideas, with notable titles including 'The Color Purple' and 'Beloved'.

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Famous Alice Walker Quotes

“The good news may be that Nature is phasing out the white man, but the bad news is that's who She thinks we all are.”

Thinking Men May White News Environmental White Man Good News Bad News

Author:Alice Walker

“The harm that you do to others is the harm that you do to yourself and you cannot think then that you can cause wars in other parts of the world and destroy people and drone them without this having a terrible impact on your own soul and your own consciousness.”

People Thinking World War Soul Causes Consciousness Terrible Impact Harm Drones

Author:Alice Walker

“I think mothers and daughters are meant to give birth to each other, over and over; that is why our challenges to each other are so fierce; that is why, when love and trust have not been too badly blemished or destroyed, the teaching and learning one from the other is so indelible and bittersweet. We daughters must risk losing the only love we instinctively feel we can't live without in order to be who we are, and I am convinced this sends a message to our mothers to break their own chains, though they may be anchored in prehistory and attached to their own great grandmothers' hearts.”

“God is inside you and inside everybody else. You come into the world with God. But only them that search for it inside find it. And sometimes it just manifest itself even if you not looking, or don't know what you looking for. Trouble do it for most folks, I think. ... Yeah, It. God ain't a he or a she, but a It.”

Ifs Thinking Knows World Sometimes God Trouble Yeah Folks Manifest

Book:Anything We Love Can Be Saved: A Writer's Activism

Source: Anything We Love Can Be Saved: A Writer's Activism

“I continue to care for President Obama and for his family. I think that in many ways they are very courageous people, and I honor that, because I know what it means to live as a black person in a racist America.”

People Thinking Knows Way Mean Persons Care America Black President Honor Racist Courageous President Obama Black Person

Author:Alice Walker

“In South Korea, they believe that when you turn 60, you've become a baby again and the rest of your life should be totally about joy and happiness, and people should leave you alone, and I just think that that's the height of intelligence.”

People Thinking Should Believe Joy Turns Baby South Height Korea Rest Of Your Life Joy And Happiness South Korea

Author:Alice Walker

“What I am really interested in is that I want people to be thinking in other ways - to stop thinking they have to remain glued to a system that has failed and to ideas about society that's necessarily about being run by Democrats or Republicans.”

People Thinking Way Want Ideas Running Republican Democrat

Author:Alice Walker

“I think that indigenous women's wisdom is crucial. So much of the care of the Earth has come from the mothers. I think it's imperative we turn to their wisdom in how to take care of the planet.”

Thinking Care Earth Mother Turns Planets Take Care Crucial Indigenous Imperatives

Author:Alice Walker

“I think America has always been polarized... It's a racist country and it has always been.”

Thinking Country America Racist

Author:Alice Walker

“You don't really stay attached to things. Life goes on, so you don't really sit around and think about how they are relevant to other people. You hope that whatever you create will be [relevant].”

People Thinking Goes On Relevant Life Goes On

Author:Alice Walker

“The forest is the first cathedral. I felt that from the time I was a child. I credit my mother with that. I used to think it came from her Native-American side. Whichever it was, she instinctively connected with nature, and taught me that.”

Thinking Firsts Children Used Mother Felt Sides Taught Connected Credit Forests Native Native American Cathedrals

Author:Alice Walker

“Decide that you know what you think is good for you and go ahead and do it.”

Author:Alice Walker

“The earth is for joy, and dancing is a big part of that. And you dance with nature. Nature is always dancing. If you're not harassing it and killing it and mutilating it, nature is dancing. That's what the leaves are doing when the wind blows through them. We live in a magical wonderful universe. And just spoil it while thinking we can at some point go to heaven or some other planet.”

Ifs Thinking Bigs Earth Joy Universe Heaven Wonderful Planets Wind Dancing Killing Blow Spoil Killing It

Author:Alice Walker

“I started writing as a child. But I didn't think of myself, actually writing until I was in college. And I had gone to Africa as a sophomore or something, no maybe junior and wrote a book of poems. And that was my beginning. I published that book.”

Thinking Writing Children Book Gone College Juniors Sophomore

Author:Alice Walker

“My writing is very organic. It's what I am. My mother says I was writing before I was crawling. I wrote in the dirt with a twig. So I think of it as something that's very essential to my being.”

Thinking Writing Mother Essentials Dirt Crawling Twigs

Author:Alice Walker

“If you don't have the ability or encouragement to use yourself in a physical way, you could become just another talking head. And talking heads run things. That's part of the reason why we're in such a sad state as a planet, because it's all about thinking, and thinking has led to a lot of aggrandizement - taking over [resources] and figuring out how you can steal and leaving people and the planet in an impoverished state.”

People Ifs Thinking Way States Reason Use Running Ability Talking Planets Resources Encouragement Leaving Stealing Reason Why Talking Heads

Author:Alice Walker

“I don't know if you actually get something out of writing poetry. I think poetry is an autonomous muse that decides to come and sit on your couch.”

Ifs Thinking Knows Writing Poetry Is Muse Couches Autonomous Writing Poetry

Author:Alice Walker

“To grow, to become spiritually alive, and vibrant, you really have to struggle. Without struggle, you do not move at all...I would appreciate it if readers who come to my work would try very, very, very hard not to think narrowly as we are taught to think in America.”

Ifs Thinking Trying Hard America Moving Grows Struggle Alive Taught Reader Appreciate

Author:Alice Walker

“What a burden to think one is conceived in sin rather than in pleasure; that one is born into evil rather than into joy.”

Thinking Joy Evil Born Sin Pleasure Burden

Book:Anything We Love Can Be Saved: A Writer's Activism

Source: Anything We Love Can Be Saved: A Writer's Activism

“I think I'm led by spirit. I think I'm led by a sense of what is right and what feels good to me - what I accept, what is joyful, what is positive. I see my mission, in a way, as carrying that forward - not so much by preaching, but by embodiment.”

Thinking Way Feels Spirit Accepting Missions Feel Good Joyful Preaching Embodiment

Author:Alice Walker

“I think if I could not get myself off my cushion, off my couch, or away from whatever I'm eating - or drinking or partying or whatever - if I couldn't get away from that, I would have a heavy heart.”

Ifs Thinking Heart Party Eating Drinking Heavy If I Could Get Away Couches Cushions Heavy Heart

Author:Alice Walker

“My big complaint with myself is that I get tired. But, I forgive myself because it's human to get tired. But, I didn't always feel like I could forgive myself. There's a certain [drive], I think. But, now I feel like, "OK, you can be tired. People should let you be tired. Then you should go and take a nap, and you should sleep." That's about it.”

People Thinking Feels Should Humans Bigs Certain Sleep Forgiving Tired Complaints Naps

Author:Alice Walker

“Anything that forces you to act at the possible harm of your own existence is going to exact a cost. You have to then think about, "Can I pay this? What will this mean to me - to my relationships, to my family, to everybody? What is this going to take? How much of me is this going to take?"”

Thinking Mean Force Pay Existence Cost My Family Harm

Author:Alice Walker

“What I've seen from keeping in touch as well as I can is that what I find so typical in Mexican culture is the helpfulness of the people to each other. I think, at this point, that is the highest good and the highest we can hope for - which is to be of help and use to each other wherever we are.”

People Thinking Wells I Can Helping Use Culture Highest Typical Mexican Helpfulness Mexican Culture

Author:Alice Walker

“I loved meditation. I love it because that's where you find what your voice is. You cannot really find it easily in this culture. This culture is the noisiest culture ever, ever. I think the damage that it has done to people is in that realm of silencing them. They are overwhelmed by gadgets. They don't know what to think because they're so heavily programmed about what it is that they should want and should think.”

People Thinking Knows Want Should Done Culture Voice Meditation Realms Damage Overwhelmed Gadgets Silencing

Author:Alice Walker

“I don't require myself or anyone to go beyond what they feel they can do. I just do suggest - for their own eventual happiness - that they go as far as they can. They can usually go much further than they think.”

Thinking Feels Can Do

Author:Alice Walker

“I always have felt that elders are really important. I think it's because, in my little Southern black culture, elders really were respected. Everybody listened to them. They may not have agreed - that's a whole different story - but they would totally listen and consider what the elder had to say.”

Thinking May Littles Important Different Whole Stories Culture Felt Black Southern Elders Black Culture

Author:Alice Walker

“I really think admiration for nature can save us. I mean true admiration, to the point of not letting it be harmed.”

Thinking Mean Admiration

Author:Alice Walker

“The forest is the first cathedral. I felt that from the time I was a child. I credit my mother with that. I used to think it came from her Native-American side. Whichever it was, she instinctively connected with nature, and taught me that. Church just could not hold my spirit.”

Thinking Children Spirit Mother Church

Author:Alice Walker

“I'm very disappointed in Barack Obama. I was very much in support of him in the beginning, but I cannot support war. I cannot support droning. I cannot support capitulating to the banks. I cannot support his caving in to Benjamin Netanyahu. I think many black people support him because they're so happy to have handsome black man in the White House. But it doesn't make me happy if that handsome black man in the White House is betraying all of our traditional values of peace, peoplehood, caring about strangers, feeding the hungry, and not bombing children.”

People Thinking Men Children War Values House Black Support Stranger Caring Hungry Barack Disappointed Black People Betray Make Me Happy

Author:Alice Walker

“I think I've actually returned to a kind of realism about how the world works. That's helpful. Because in a way, no matter who's in charge of the corporation that the United States is, the direction in which it is taken seems to be inexorable. So, you just get the job of being the front man for four or eight years. Now, most people realize that's what you are.”

People Thinking Men World Kind Realizing Taken Helpful

Author:Alice Walker

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.”

People Thinking Way Inspirational Giving Motivational Beautiful Strong Peace Women Freedom Common Attitude Positive Positive Thinking Giving Up Yoga Female Empowerment Clever African American Novelists Empowering Bullying Women Empowerment Within You Strong Women Encouraging Black Women Not Giving Up Empowered Empowering Women Insperational Self Empowerment Being A Woman Being Strong Powerful Women Words Of Encouragement Famous Women Independent Women Empowered Women Power Of Positive Thinking Women Empowering Women Inspirational Women Inspirational Strong Women Giving Up Is Not An Option Career Path Women Power Being A Strong Woman Inspire Women Strong Women And Love Women Equality Women In History I Am Woman Strong Inspirational Strong Independent Women Cool Motivational Inspirational Career Motivational Career Career Women Deep Meaning Being Independent Woman Strong Powerful Women Empowering Love Career Motivation Strong Women Motivation Black Women Inspirational Famous Women Inspirational Female Writers Strong Independent Black Motivational Strong Girl Personal Empowerment Powerful Inspirational Inspirational History Women History Month Self Empowering

Author:Alice Walker

“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.”

Ifs Thinking God Religion Nature Religious Walks Inspiring Fields Color Appreciation Colour Godly Purple Gratitude For Work Pleasing God Work Appreciation Friend Appreciation

Book:Anything We Love Can Be Saved: A Writer's Activism

Source: Anything We Love Can Be Saved: A Writer's Activism

“I'm entirely interested in people, and also other creatures and beings, but especially in people, and I tend to read them by emotional field more than anything. So I have a special interest in what they're thinking and who they are and who's hiding behind those eyes and how did he get there, and what's the story, really?”

People Thinking Stories Eye Interest Behinds Special Fields Emotional Creatures Hiding Special Interests

Author:Alice Walker

“I think we have to own the fears that we have of each other, and then, in some practical way, some daily way, figure out how to see people differently than the way we were brought up to.”

People Thinking Way Peace Figures Diversity Practicals Brotherhood Ubuntu Unity In Diversity Inspirational Diversity Tolerance And Diversity

Author:Alice Walker

“I think writing really helps you heal yourself. I think if you write long enough, you will be a healthy person. That is, if you write what you need to write, as opposed to what will make money, or what will make fame.”

Ifs Thinking Needs Writing Persons Long Enough Helping Healthy Fame Brilliant Heal Making Money Healthy Person

Author:Alice Walker

“I think there is a sense of being forced at this time to look at America's really large shadow and that's not all that bad.”

Thinking Looks America Shadow

Author:Alice Walker

“You know, one race will not be a survivor if the other one dies, and that's something that we should think about.”

Ifs Thinking Knows Should Dies Race Survivor

Author:Alice Walker

“People tend to think that life really does progress for everyone eventually, that people progress, but actually only some people progress. The rest of the people don't.”

People Thinking Doe Progress

Book:The World Has Changed: Conversations with Alice Walker

Source: The World Has Changed: Conversations with Alice Walker

“I think that wealthy white people would like to have a country that resembles the Fifties, when all the minorities were tucked away in ghettos and paid in very low wages but on the surface it was very bright and shiny and free and the rest of the world would look on it longingly.”

People Thinking World Looks Country White Lows Paid Surface Minorities Wealthy Wages Ghetto

Author:Alice Walker

“It's so clear that you have to cherish everyone. I think that's what I get from these older black women, that every soul is to be cherished, that every flower Is to bloom.”

Thinking Soul Women Black Clear Flower Diversity Feminist Cherish Brotherhood Black Women Unity In Diversity Famous Inspirational Blooming Flower

Author:Alice Walker

“Well, I think indigenous peoples have ways of living on the Earth that they've had forever. And they've been overrun by organized religion, which has had a lot of money and power.”

Thinking Way Wells Earth Forever Organized Lots Of Money Indigenous Living On Organized Religion Money And Power

Author:Alice Walker

“Laughter isn't even the other side of tears. It is tears turned inside out. Truly the suffering is great, here on earth. We blunder along, shredded by our mistakes, bludgeoned by our faults. Not having a clue where the dark path leads us. But on the whole, we stumble along bravely, don't you think?”

Thinking Whole Earth Suffering Sides Dark Mistake Path Tears Laughter Faults Clue Blunders

Book:By the Light of My Father's Smile

Source: By the Light of My Father's Smile

“Man corrupt everything, say Shug. He on your box of grits, in your head, and all over the radio. He try to make you think he everywhere. Soon as you think he everywhere, you think he God. But he ain't. Whenever you trying to pray, and man plop himself on the other end of it, tell him to git lost, say Shug. Conjure up the flowers, wind, water, a big rock.”

Thinking Men Trying Ends Bigs Lost Water Rocks Wind Flower Praying Radio Boxes Make You Think Grit Shug

Book:Anything We Love Can Be Saved: A Writer's Activism

Source: Anything We Love Can Be Saved: A Writer's Activism

“I think us here to wonder, myself. To wonder. To ask. And that in wondering bout the big things and asking bout the big things, you learn about the little ones, almost by accident. But you never know nothing more about the big things than you start out with. The more I wonder, the more I love.”

Thinking Knows Life Littles Bigs Asks Wonder Asking Accidents Awe Big Things Wonder Love

Author:Alice Walker

“I feel a little peculiar around the children. For one thing, they grown. And I see they think me and Nettie and Shug and Albert and Samuel and Harpo and Sofia and Jack and Odessa real old and don't know much what going on. But I don't think us feel old at all. And us so happy. Matter of fact, I think this the youngest us ever felt.”

Thinking Knows Feels Children Littles Real Matter Facts Felt One Thing Peculiar Matter Of Fact Odessa Shug

Author:Alice Walker

“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it. People think pleasing God is all God cares about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back.”

Source: El color púrpura

“God is different to us now, after all these years in Africa. More spirit than ever before, and more internal. Most people think he has to look like something or someone- a roofleaf or Christ- but we don't. And not being tied to what God looks like, frees us.”

People Thinking Years Looks Different Spirit Christ Internals Tied Like Something

Book:El color púrpura

Source: El color púrpura

“...have you ever found God in church? I never did. I just found a bunch of folks hoping for him to show. Any God I ever felt in church I brought in with me. And I think all the other folks did too. They come to church to share God, not find God.”

Thinking God Shows Found Felt Church Share Folks Bunch

Book:El color púrpura

Source: El color púrpura

“Resist the temptation to think what afflicts you is peculiar to you. Have faith that what is in your consciousness can be communicated to the consciousness of all. And is, in many cases, already there.”

Thinking Consciousness Cases Temptation Peculiar Have Faith

Book:The Temple of My Familiar

Source: The Temple of My Familiar

About the Author

Born: February 9, 1944
Known for: Author
Quotes: 527

Related Topics

People Thinking Ifs Knows World Children Way Earth Men Feels Poetry Black Planets Poem Writing Believe Literature Mother Want Heart

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

The Color PurpleRelated source material

Taking the Arrow Out of the HeartRelated source material

The Alice Walker Collection: Non-FictionRelated source material

The Temple of My FamiliarRelated source material

The Cushion in the Road: Meditation and Wandering as the Whole World Awakens to Being in Harm's WayRelated source material

The World Has Changed: Conversations with Alice WalkerRelated source material

Anything We Love Can Be Saved: A Writer's ActivismRelated source material

El color púrpuraRelated source material

Everyday UseRelated source material

In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist ProseRelated source material

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