Customer Reviews

Her Blue Body Everything We Know

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Startled to find so many poems that resonated in my own life, I copied many down and posted them around by room. Each provides a meditation on a different theme, from death to distraction, affairs of the heart to hunger and the nagging, geographic pull to home. When I give my speech at graduation next week, it will end with "The Nature Of This Flower Is To Bloom," thanks to Alice Walker.

I love the structure of her poems. She writes for those who have forgotten how things used to be with African American life and struggles. My favorite section in the book is from "Revolutionary Petunias" and "Willie Lee." Walker has been an inspiration for me in writing poetry. I love her use of imagery in her free verse. It was commented that Walker relies too much on her relationships in her personal friendships in her writing. But I disagree. I propose that no one should read her poetry without reading her autobiography of her past. Most poets will create an illusion of situations, but Walker alludes to her past and speaks the truth to us all. I hope she sees this because I've always wanted to talk with her and ask her about the things I have written, but I am in the process of challenging myself to want the reader to feel something in a meter that they can feel but not see. Then THATS incredible. Nice work Ms. Walker

Reading Alice Walker reviews here on Amazon is highly annoying. Either they praise her to the skies, scouring any who react with an analytical response, or they attack her for the racial simplicities that some see as marring her work (those who get annoyed by her "white folk have no rhythm" trope). Both extremes have not been very useful for promoting *my* greater understanding of her work--I see the talent seething, squirming in her--but through many books, there were twists in her choices that alienated her talent to me.

Simply put, this book that convinced me Alice is a Talent with a capital "T". She starts with a lovely preface, "In keeping faith with Poetry's honest help to me, I have not deleted or changed--beyond a word or two--anything I have written, though greatly tempted at times to do so. The young self, the naive promiscuous self, appear doubly vulnerable now, in light of my unexpected bonus of years, and the experience they have brought me. I embrace them all, as Poetry embraced me..." From there, she follows with some beautiful, beautiful poetry, speaking to the struggle to develop and improve as an artist.

There are mis-steps, irritations. "There are no tigers/in Africa!/You say./Frowning./Yes. I say./Smiling./But they are/very beautiful." doesn't do much for me. I prefer my evocations of Africa without this almost Disney-esque gloss of "all cool primitive things we'll embrace as African."

Cumulatively, however--the poems are terrific. It's not often that I read through an entire volume of poetry without putting it down. Read this book for all its warts and missteps--and glory in it for its terrific human achievement.