Alice Walker won't allow Hebrew translation of 'The Color Purple'

Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Alice Walker Won't Allow Hebrew Translation Of 'The Color Purple' Alice Walker knew that her refusal to allow an Israeli company to publish an edition of "The Color Purple" would lead to controversy. Indeed, that was presumably her aim - to bring attention to what she sees as unjust and illegal treatment of the Palestinian people. We are very strongly against banning books in any circumstances, yet when an author refuses to allow their books to circulate in a territory, it's a more complex issue. If Walker does nothing, then she misses an opportunity to speak out about a situation she feels strongly about. If she blocks publication, as she has in this situation, then the Israeli public is denied the opportunity to read a powerful story about the impact of discrimination and segregation. Perhaps Walker could find another way - deny the publisher, thus gaining the publicity she seeks, but also allow a free digital edition of "The Color Purple," translated into Hebrew, to circulate, maybe featuring a new introduction in which she makes explicit connections between the book and the present Israeli situation. Digital distribution could offer a new medium not only for reading, but for intelligent protest and debate. Does denying readers impede intelligent dialog? Leave us a comment and join the debate. -- Andrew Losowsky, HuffPost Books Editor More in HuffPost Books How The Democrats Can Win In November Big Publishers Aren't Offering eBook Titles To Libraries 10 Things You NEED To Read Before 2012 Election My Life As A Black Panther Marco Rubio Says He'd Come To U.S. Illegally To Provide For His Children BLOG POSTS C. M. Rubin: Alice -- True or Not True? What was the relationship between Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell? Let's talk facts. Laurence J. Kotlikoff: Sylvia's Grand Pursuit Is a Grand Gift Slyvia Nasar's Grand Pursuit is a marvelous intellectual and social history of economics, economists, and economic times during the century when economics came into its own, 1850 through 1950. Peter Clothier: You Can't Tell a Book... Each reader will come away from Open Minds, Open Heart with what she or he needs to learn, and with a renewed sense of the mind's potential to enrich both our individual selves and those with whom we share this planet. Michael Giltz: Crime Thriller The Kings Of Cool Is Bloody Good Fun With Savages, author Don Winslow transformed himself from an author into a franchise. The Kings of Cool, a prequel, has all the snap and savvy of Savages but with even more ambition and heart. Barbara & Shannon Kelley: Erica Kennedy: RIP, Feminista Erica Kennedy was a connector. A spark. A deep thinker and a deep feeler. I'm so sorry that I'll never know her better -- and so thankful that I knew her at all.

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