In her article After
20 Years, Meditation Still Conquers Inner Space, Alice Walker specifically discusses
the impact of meditation on her life, allowing her to raise a child, survive a
divorce, gain clear “inner vision” (2000). However, Walker also discusses how meditation
has helped her to write. She shares how her
writing allows her to not only share her feelings and experiences, but also
recognize those who have helped shape her life through those experiences. Walker is a writer who seems to write from “within”
so I was not surprised to learn that she meditates. Her works include “The Temple of My Familiar”
and “The Color Purple.” I suspect much
of her inspiration is from the focus she achieves from meditation.
In reading this article, her perspective on the writing process is more
cerebral and emotional, less technical.
She credits meditating as a tool that allows her to write through committing
to a “routine, daily practice” (2000, para. 8).
She references how meditation offers her insight into personal
situations, as well as assignments to send a “metta” or “loving kindness”
meditation to four different people. One
of the people Walker selected was a college poetry professor of hers, Muriel
Rukeyser. Rukeyser was not only a
teacher of Walkers, but also an advocate in forwarded some of her works to The New Yorker magazine.
I agree with Walker in that the best writing stems from an inspiration
or a conviction. Writing serves as a way
to relay a message in a formal structure, while still maintaining the unique
imprint of the author. Walker manages to
combine emotions and experiences in her poetry and prose. I think her writing is expressive in any type
of media that showcases it. This article
does not discuss social media specifically.
However, I think Walker’s vivid style of writing is easily demonstrated
in any new media venue. For example, “The
Color Purple” was a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award book that transitioned to an award-winning movie. Her writing is not only a
collection of words, but Walker manages to allow the reader to engage through
vivid imagery and description.
Source:
Walker, A. (2000, October 23). After 20 Years,
Meditation Still Conquers Inner Space. Retrieved from The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/23/arts/23WALK.html
