
(Book #63) Marcia hosted this discussion of Alice Walker’s essays in her backyard garden with decorative help from her daughter and culinary assistance from her friend Ali. Marcia served a Southern summer menu of fried chicken, skillet fried corn, a wonderfully spiced slaw and biscuits. Most of the girls were in attendance and there was a very full discussion of the book. We talked about Walker’s writing style which Chris characterized as generous, even though as Linda noted, the content was often challenging or even intimidating to readers with more black guilt than others. Some of us were happy to have previously read Their Eyes Were Watching God because so much of Walker’s book has to do with Zora Neale Hurston. My basic response was the realization that I learned so much from it — I almost felt as if I should be taking notes — and for me, that’s an enjoyable feeling. So much information about Black writers, the Civil Rights movement, and the perception of color as it relates to white black women and black black women. And while covering such topics, the book still reads quite easily. It is very well written.