Photos by Julie Alpaugh.
By SUNCANA PAVLIC – Web Master
After attending “A Conversation with Alice Walker” on Oct. 15 at the Morton Theater, sophomore Suncana Pavlic discusses her discoveries with the connection between Alice Walker and her family.
When Alice Walker– a poet and Pulitzer Prize winner for her book the Color Purple– came to Athens, I was lucky enough to see her speak in “A Conversation with Alice Walker” at the Morton Theater.
Walker spoke in a way that was interesting, understandable and beautiful. But the most outstanding take away from hearing her is how familiar she sounds to what I hear on a daily basis from my mother, my brother and my father.
My Mother: The tree hugger.
“When I was little, I connected with nature. I would have the most wonderful time with the moon and the stars and the wind and the incredible joy of peaches,” Walker said. “So, that was my church.”
Walker discussed her spiritual connection with nature as though she were my mother. I do not know how many times my mother has said “ I am a dirt loving tree hugger” and spoken about how Mother Nature and the Universe are the higher powers within the world.
My Brother: The Socialist.
“We see (former Vice President Cheney saying all these things, and we know he’s lying and we can see (President Barack) Obama twisting and turning in the wind, and we wished he were better,” Walker said.
I believe she stole these exact words from my brother’s mouth. As she spoke about her very progressive political views, I realized they have an uncanny resemblance to those of my brother’s as she described the evils of capitalism and the corruption of our nation’s leaders and former leaders.
My Father: The Poet.
“To live in this world is to be enchanted,” Walker said.
But most of all, she embodies my father through the way they speak. Every conversation sounds as if they were crafting a poem by using heavily descriptive and distinctive diction to portray and convey their ideas and thoughts on any matter.
“A Conversation with Alice Walker” turned out to be an extremely familiar echo of what I would hear at my own dinner table. This made her words not only understandable and relatable, but every word was reinforced by something my family had taught me.
