Editor’s note: In celebration of our 10th anniversary, each week we will republish a story from our archives that sparked strong reaction from readers, showcase...
When Alice Walker wrote, “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it,” she was referring to the vivid wi...
We have our gods in the Southern canon.
We speak their names in high school and university English classes every fall. We have idolized or snickered at their stories and lives. We have embraced or disputed their presence in monolithic anthologies of literature. Nonetheless, we continue to conjure them: William and Flannery. Carson, Harper, Truman, and Tennessee....
Alice Walker and Valerie Boyd in conversation in 2013. (Photo by Phields Photography)
Valerie Boyd vividly recalls the first time she came face to face with h...
Valerie Boyd is the author of "Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston" and the forthcoming "Spirits in the Dark: The Untold Story of Black Women i...
