Funds for Bookworm are provided in part by Lannin Foundation.

You are a human animal.

You are a very special breed.

Or you are the only animal.

Who can think, who can reason, who can read.

From KCRW Santa Monica, I'm Michael Silverblatt, and this is bookworm.

Today I'm really delighted to have as my guest, Alice Walker, the occasion is her new novel.

Now is the time to open your heart.

You know, those of you who've been listening to the show know that we've been on the air for over 15 years.

And I think that one of the things it's important to acknowledge is that at a certain point, you create new goals for yourself.

The last time I spoke to Alice Walker, she moved me deeply by explaining

to me that her interest in writing was not just in being a good writer, but doing writing

that changes the world, that changes the way we think about the world. And that is a different

approach to writing, I think, than many people have when they're young

and trying to get every detail right and trying to get a literary sensibility established.

Now the act of writing seems to me for you to be much more joyful. And I think to be about the effect of the

book on the world rather than the interplay of the book with itself, the old literary idea of a

hall of mirrors, is this word right? Is that comma in the right place?

Those are no longer the first level of concern, it seems to me. Am I right?

Yes, and also I had to think of changing writing to change the world, Michael, so that I could

live in the world. The world that I inherited was one that was not designed for my life.

It was designed for my death.

...