Alice Walker

(1944 -)

Born in Eatonton, Ga., Walker moved to Mississippi after completing college and became active in the civil rights movement. She began teaching and writing short stories, essays and poems. Walker's works center on the experiences of American blacks and culture. She is considered one of the most important writers of the 20th century. Between 1984 and 1988, she co-founded Wild Trees Press and went on to write "The Temple of My Familiar" and "Possessing the Secret Joy."

Walker is best known for her novel "The Color Purple," a depiction of a black woman's struggle for her sexual and racial freedom. She was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for the work in 1983.