Alice Walker: Biography and Poem at Thirty-Nine

• Alice Walker, born in 1944, is an American novelist, poet, and political activist.
• She won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel, The Color Purple, in 1982.
• Walker was born in Georgia to a poor family; her mother worked as a maid, and her father was a farmer.
• Her mother emphasized the importance of education, leading Alice to earn a university scholarship and graduate from Sarah Lawrence College.
• Walker became involved in the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, advocating for equal rights in voting, welfare, and education in Mississippi.
• She married Melvin Leventhal, a Jewish civil rights lawyer, and in 1967, they became the first legally married interracial couple in Mississippi.
• Despite facing threats from the Ku Klux Klan and experiencing prejudice, they remained in Mississippi, working to advance rights for Black and Jewish people.

Summary of "Poem at Thirty-Nine"

• This poem expresses Walker's feelings of missing her deceased father.
• She reflects on the life lessons he imparted and concludes that, despite potential disagreements with her life choices, he would be proud of her at 39.
• The poem suggests that our character is shaped by our relationship with our parents, even if our lives diverge from their expectations or approval.

Analysis of "Poem at Thirty-Nine"

• The title specifies the poet's age, implying a significant realization occurred around this time, potentially after the success of The Color Purple.
• Age 39, often associated with the end of youth and the beginning of middle age, may represent a pivotal moment for Walker to reconcile with her father's memory.
• Written in free verse, the poem lacks a fixed rhythm or rhyme scheme, but the short lines create a staccato effect.
• The staccato effect communicates the poet's emotional state and her determination to address a sensitive topic with precision.

Structure and Tone

• The poem is structured around the refrain "How I miss my father," which is repeated twice.
• The second repetition with an exclamation mark highlights the poet's intensifying emotions as the poem progresses.
• The poem begins with this line, immediately establishing the themes of bereavement and loss.
• The colloquial tone creates a sense of intimacy, inviting the reader to share in the poet's grief as if she is confiding in them.
• The use of "how" indicates the depth and complexity of her feelings, and "my" emphasizes the personal nature of the poem.

Exploring Regret

• The line "I wish he had not been so tired when I was born" suggests a desire to alter the past and hints at potential regrets regarding her relationship with her father.
• The description of her father as "so tired" relates to Walker's biographical details, acknowledging his exhaustion from working hard as a poor farmer.
• Walker seems to be explaining that her father's exhaustion took him away from her, limiting his engagement with her from her birth.

Money, Memory, and Irony

• The poet associates memories of her father with "writing deposit slips and cheques".
• This connection highlights her father's preoccupation with work and financial concerns during his life.
• The phrase "He taught me how" refers to her father teaching her how to write the bank forms.
• Walker's use of "he must have said" indicates a reconstructed memory, underscoring the personal and subjective nature of memory over time.
• Her father's emphasis on money taught her to see "bits of paper as a way to escape the life he knew."
• This is an ironic statement, as it was the father's focus on money that led the poet to want financial security as a way to diverge from his path.
• The verb "escape" suggests that their life was like a prison, where they were held captive by poverty.
• Despite the reader possibly thinking that the "bits of paper" allude to her writing career, they represent the desire for financial security.

Truth and Consequences

• "He taught me that telling the truth did not always mean a beating" implies Walker’s father wanted to be fair.
• The word "beating" hints at the violent and abusive lives of poor Black Americans, a subject explored in her novel.
• The line carries a political implication, referencing the unfair treatment of Black Americans and suggesting a lesson in political defiance.
• "Many of my truths must have grieved him before the end" reveals Walker's recognition that her honest expression of beliefs likely caused her father sorrow.
• Walker acknowledges that her chosen path of political protest and a mixed-race marriage may have been shocking and incomprehensible to her father.
• She may be sorry that the way she expressed his teachings might have hurt him.

Loss and Longing

• The repetition of "How I miss my father!" underscores Walker's overwhelming grief and longing to reconcile with her deceased father.
• As direct communication is impossible, Walker turns to writing the poem as a means of connection.

Cooking and Connection

• "He cooked like a person dancing" uses a simile to portray Walker's father as someone who finds joy and freedom in cooking.
• The description of him concentrating "in a yoga meditation" highlights the calm and almost religious focus he brought to the task.
• Cooking was important to him because he "craved the voluptuous sharing of good food," indicating his passion for sharing food with others.
• The word "craved" emphasizes the intensity of his desire to share food, suggesting sociability and love for family and friends.

Legacy and Transformation

• The word "Now" shifts the focus to the present day and reveals her father's lasting influence.
• "I look and cook just like him" signifies the profound connection she feels with her father when cooking.
• She recognizes her cooking provides a moment when her mind is free from burdensome thoughts.
• The description of cooking becomes a metaphor for life: "seasoning none of my life the same way twice."
• Walker lives her life adapting constantly and embracing new experiences.
• She extends her father's friendliness by being "happy to feed whoever strays my way," welcoming strangers to her table.

Acceptance and Pride

• In the final stanza, Walker transcends grief and acknowledges her father's positive influence.
• "He would have grown to admire the woman I've become" reflects her belief that her father would have ultimately appreciated her.
• Walker sums herself up as someone "cooking, writing, chopping wood, staring into the fire".
• The activities show her physical strength and ability to perform tasks associated with both genders.
• "Staring into the fire" symbolizes her spiritual depth and her capacity for contemplation.
• Despite beginning with sadness and loss, the poem concludes with Walker's realization of her self-worth, which she believes her father would have recognized and valued.