NY, HBJ, (1988). A collection of short prose pieces. Inscribed by Walker to her editor, John Ferrone: "To John Ferrone, editor, this bouquet of essays that bloom clearer for his gently pruning hand. Love & thanks, Alice/ 7-14-88." Ferrone was Walker's editor for years, including working with her on The Color Purple. According to the Evelyn C. White biography of Walker (Alice Walker: A Life), "While she appreciated Ferrone's craft, she confided that she felt mismatched, increasingly, with the white male editors she'd been assigned at Harcourt since 1968," and she requested a new editor for Possessing the Secret of Joy, a novel of African female genital mutilation. Two paper stocks used, one of which is gently toned; near fine in a near fine, spine-sunned dust jacket. [#032833] SOLD