"I have the nerve to walk my own way, however hard, in my search for reality, rather than climb upon the rattling wagon of wishful illusions." - Zora
Zora Neale Hurston, a "vibrant" "dazzling" individualist and writer, gave voice and found light for characters previously absent from the American literary canon. During the Harlem Renaissance, her work's popularity took fire. Less than a few decades later Hurston's contributions were severely underappreciated and criticized for her seemingly unprogressive portrayals of African American life. Today her works are celebrated for their invaluable rich documentation of African American dialect and folklore.
"jump at de sun!" - Zora's mother
"We might not land on the sun, but at least we'd get off the ground." -Zora
Zora Neale Hurston was born January 21st, 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama.
- Grew up in Eatonville, Florida
- Eatonville was the first all black township
- Eatonville later became a common setting and subject for her writing
- Zora's mother was a huge encourager for Zora
- Her mother died with she was 13
- Zora's father remarried and she spent a lot of her teen years living with older siblings in different parts of the country
- Zora got her first taste for theatre when she joined a touring Gilbert & - Sulivan troupe as a maid for the lead singer
- In 1917, she dropped the touring job after coming down with appendicitis and moved in with a sister in Baltimore
- In Baltimore, she went back to school and got her GED
-To enroll, she lied and said she was 16 when she was actually 26
- She gave her age as 10 years younger for the rest of her life
"No matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you." -Zora
Zora not only strived to be a successful writer, but an anthropologist as well. Howard University (1918 - 1920)
- Cofounded the student newspaper - "The Hilltop"
- Graduated with her associate's degree
Barnard College (1925-1928)
- Studied under famous anthropologist Franz Boas of Columbia University
- Recieved a grant and spent 6 months gathering African American folklore
- Graduated with a B.A. in anthropology
Columbia University
- Attended as a graduate student for 2 years
- Throughout her life, Zora spent time abroad (Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, the Bahamas) conducting research that fueled her writing
- Aside from folklore research, she also spent a great deal of time researching traditional voodoo practices
"I regret all of my books." -Zora
Zora is often regarded as the most significant black female writer of the early 20th century.
- In 1924, Opportunity Magazine awarded her 2nd place for her short story "Drenched in Light"
- In 1925, Opportunity Magazine awarded her 2nd place for her play COLOR STRUCK and short story "Spunk"
- She befriended many other Harlem Renaissance artists after moving to Harlem in 1925
- Langston Hughes, Ethel Waters, Bruce Nugent, Alice Dunbar-Nelson
- She adored socializing and charming others with her humor and vivacity
- Some say that at her own parties she would lock herself in her room to write
- Between 1933 and 1937 she wrote several plays
- THE GREAT DAY, FROM SUN TO SUN and ALL DE LIVE LONG DAY
- In 1937, her most famous work, THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD
- She experienced a career slump between 1938 and 1940 until she published her autobiography DUST TRACKS ON A ROAD
- In 1943, she was awarded the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in Race Relations for her autobiography and was also featured on the cover of the Saturday Review
- She was scheduled to work with Maxwell Perkins, editor to Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Wolfe, etc., but Perkins passed away before the project got off the ground
* This is an extremely brief listing of her work. For a more conclusive listing, click here .
"Sometimes I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company?." - Zora
Zora never saw the credit she deserved for her work financially or critically
- The largest royalty she ever recieved was $943.75
- Her conservative political views repelled many of her audiences
- Having grown up in a productive all black community (Eatonville, FL) Zora was outwardly against any acts towards desegregation
- She felt it would stifle the growth of African American culture and would not liberate black America
- Many later critics saw her use of rural African American dialect as racist
- In the last years of her life, she went from job to job and struggled to support herself
-Zora died of a stroke on January 28th, 1960 in a wellfare home in Fort Pierce, Forida
- Friends had to take up a collection to cover her funeral expenses and she was laid to rest in an unmarked grave
- In 1973, Alice Walker paid tribute to Zora and marked her grave with a headstone with the an inscription that reads "Zora Neale Hurston: Genius of the South"
"A thing is mighty big when time and distance cannot shrink it." - Zora
Zora's work has influenced many including Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Gayle Jones, Ralph Ellison, Maya Angelou Toni Cade Bambara, and many more.
- Today her works are read and performed every year around the country
- The Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities is held every January in her memory in Eatonville, Florida
- Many films and videos, like this one , have been produced to celebrate her legacy
For more information on Zora and her work visit:
http://www.zoranealehurston.com/
http://chdr.cah.ucf.edu/hurstonarchive/
http://aalbc.com/authors/zoraneal.htm#.Tud7mGB1PYI
"The three tales...celebrate the laughin' kind of lovin' kind of hurtin' kind of pain that comes from bein' human." -Blues Speak Woman in SPUNK
SPUNK is a stage adaptation of 3 Zora Neale Hurston short stories:
- SWEAT (1926)
- STORY IN HARLEM SLANG (1942)
- THE GILDED SIX BITS (1933)
The play is told through blues, choral narrative and dance with adaptations by George C. Wolfe and music by Chic Streeman
The play was originally developed at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and was first produced at the New York Shakespeare Festival and Crossroads Theatre Company
California Shakespeare will be producing SPUNK July 4th-29th under the direction of Patricia McGregor
