Joseph A. Walker made a name for himself in the 1970s with his dramatic stage plays highlighting the struggles of African-American men in a white-dominated, racist society. Walker was born on February 23, 1935, in Washington, D.C., to Joseph (a house painter) and Florine Walker. In 1956, Walker graduated from Howard University, where he majored in philosophy and minored in drama. From 1956 to 1960, Walker was in the United States Air Force, reaching the rank of first lieutenant before being discharged.
While in the Air Force, the experience of being teased by a white fellow Air Force member for writing poetry inspired Walker to quit the armed forces and devote himself to the craft of writing. In the one-paragraph "Joe Walker's Autobiography," which prefaces The River Niger, Walker explains, "I started to become a professional.....
This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 395 words. This
study guide contains 21,568 words (approx. 72 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Literature Guide with our The River Niger Access Pass.
