The cushion in the road : meditation and wandering as the whole world awakens to being in harm's way / Alice Walker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Walker, Alice, 1944- author.

Standardized Title:

Essays. Selections

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American essays.

Critical thinking.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (541 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York, New York : The New Press, [2013]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This gorgeous collection gathers Alice Walker's wide-ranging meditations--many of them previously unpublished--on our intertwined personal, spiritual, and political destinies. For the millions of her devoted fans, and for readers of Walker's bestselling 2006 book, We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For, here is a brand new "gift of words" that invites readers on a journey of political awakening and spiritual insight. The Cushion in the Road finds the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, poet, essayist, and activist at the height of her literary powers, sharing fresh vantages and a deepening engagement with our world. Walker writes that "we are beyond a rigid category of color, sex, or spirituality if we are truly alive," and the pieces in The Cushion in the Road illustrate this idea beautifully. Visiting themes she has addressed throughout her career--including racism, Africa, Palestinian solidarity, and Cuba--as well as addressing emergent issues, such as the presidency of Barack Obama on health care, Walker explores her conflicting impulses to retreat into inner contemplation and to remain deeply engaged with the world. Rich with humor and wisdom, and informed by Walker's unique eye for the details of human and natural experience, The Cushion in the Road will please longtime Walker fans as well as those who are new to her work.

Contents:

Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; WITNESS On Barack Obama; LEST WE FORGET: AN OPEN LETTER TO MY SISTERS WHO ARE BRAVE; WHAT I WANT: COMPASSION AS A VALUE; MAY WHATEVER WE HAVE GAINED, NOT BE LOST; FINALLY IT IS HERE: ELECTION DAY; DEAR BROTHER PRESIDENT (ELECT); WHAT DO I EXPECT FROM THIS TURN OF THE HISTORICAL WHEEL; A LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA ABOUT TORTURE; UNDERSTANDING HEALTH CARE; WELL DONE-OBAMA AND THE NOBEL PRIZE; FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH: SOME THOUGHTS ON WAR, DISAPPOINTMENT, AND ANGER; WHY WAR IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA; The Road of Life

HUMAN SUNRISEINTRODUCING THE OJIBWA WARRIOR; A WEDDING CEREMONY: MARRYING GOOD MEN; COMING TO MISSISSIPPI; SAYING GOOD-BYE TO MY FRIEND HOWARD ZINN; ON THE HELP; HONORING CICELY TYSON; WE ARE IN THIS PLACE FOR A REASON; LISTENING TO HOWIE: THE OPTIMISM OF UNCERTAINTY; MEDITATION The Settled Mind; MILAGROS DE LA VIDA TURTLES; FACING LA MADRE; GIVING, AS GENEROUSLY AS THE EARTH; SEEKING COUNSEL FROM DIEGO AND FRIDA; HITTING THE MARK; THE VICTORY BELONGS TO LOVE: SO WHAT ABOUT MARRIAGE?; THE CLARITY; OVERWHELM; QUEEN SNOWS; ALL THE STARS; THE KILLING OF TROY DAVIS; THE G IN "ODE TO JOY"

FROZEN RIVER IS A MOVING SURPRISEMAY I BE FRANK; ìNADIE TE QUITA LO BAILADO!; LOVING AUDIOBOOKS BUT NOT THE SEGREGATION OF BOOKS AND LITERATURE; AT SEA ON THE AUDACITY OF HOPE; STUBBORN FLOWERS CLIMBING; WINDOWS: DISCOVERING URI AVNERY; RECLAIMING THE CROSS; "This Is What You Shall Do"; A RECIPE FOR DIFFICULT TIMES: ANXIETY SOUP; EVERYONE'S A VICTIM; SISTERLOSS; WE ARE REMEMBERED FOR WHAT WE TEACH; EDWIDGE DANTICAT, THE QUIET STREAM; MORE MEDITATION REQUIRED!; "WE BELIEVE" BY STAUGHTON AND ALICE LYND; THE INNER LISTENER; FROM GRANDMOTHER'S HORSE; FREE DOGS AND THE ALBANY BULB WATERFRONT PARK

ENDING THE AGE OF WASTETHE CASE OF BRADLEY MANNING; EVOLUTION; BURSTING INTO LOVE; LIFE LESSONS: GRATITUDE IS MY ONLY PRAYER; WANDERING; THE UNIVERSE BELONGS TO EVERYONE; 12 QUESTIONS: KOREAN WOMEN'S SOUL QUESTIONS; ADOPTING AN ORPHANAGE; COMING TO SEE YOU SINCE I WAS FIVE YEARS OLD: AN AMERICAN POET'S CONNECTION TO THE SOUTH AFRICAN SOUL; ST. JOHN: THE LENNONONO GRANT FOR PEACE CEREMONY; ABOUT AUNG SAN SUU KYI, MEDITATOR AND TEACHER; SOLIDARITY Letters; A LETTER FROM ALICE WALKER TO AUNG SAN SUU KYI; A LETTER ABOUT NATURE FROM 2005; AN OPEN LETTER TO NAWAL EL SAADAWI

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE PRIME MINISTER, ATTORNEY GENERAL, AND SPEAKER OF THE KNESSET IN ISRAELOn Palestine; WE CAN OFFER WHAT WE ARE; BOYCOTTS MUST HAPPEN IN THE HEART; "YOU WILL HAVE NO PROTECTION"; WHAT CHANGES THE WORLD? BEARING WITNESS TO THE TRUTH; NOTHING IS STRONGER THAN A CIRCLE; THE PEACE OF NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE; AUNTIE, I SIMPLY CAN'T IMAGINE IT!; AND SO OUR TRAILS CONTINUE; OVERCOMING SPEECHLESSNESS; EMPATHY IS A WAVE; TO THE FREEDOM RIDERS OF PALESTINE; THE SANITY OF FRIENDSHIP; Onward; ENCOUNTERING THE UNKNOWN BRAZIL; Permissions

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-59558-886-8