SOURCE: "Poet of history, poet of vision," in The Women's Review of Books, Vol. VII, Nos. 10-11, July, 1990, pp. 41-2.

In the following review of Walker's poetry, Howe discusses "Epitaph for My Father" from the "October Journey" section and "Fanfare, Coda, and Finale" from the "Farish Street" section of This Is My Century.

Last November, at the Graduate School of the City University of New York, Margaret Walker accepted The Feminist Press literary award of 1989 in honor of her "achievement as poet, novelist, critic and essayist; as teacher and fighter for human rights; and as a spirit of great empathy, compassion and understanding." The citation continued: "You came of age in a world not friendly to women or black people. You helped lead the way towards changing that world. You offer all of us, whatever our race, a vision of possibility. Without diminishing the pain of prejudice, conflict...