Zora Neale Hurston

In 1927, Zora Neale Hurston went to Plateau, Alabama, just outside Mobile, to interview eighty-six-year-old Cudjo Lewis. Of the millions of men, women, and children transported from Africa to America as slaves, Cudjo was then the only person alive to tell the story of this integral part of the nation's history. Hurston was there to record Cudjo's firsthand account of the raid that led to his capture and bondage fifty years after the Atlantic slave...

"One of the most acclaimed artists of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston was a gifted novelist, playwright, and essayist. Drawn from three decades of her work, this anthology showcases her development as a writer, from her early pieces expoundingon the beauty and precision of African American art to some of her final published works, covering the sensational trial of Ruby McCollum, a wealthy Black woman convicted in 1952 for killing a white...

Mules and Men is a treasury of black America's folklore as collected by a famous storyteller and anthropologist who grew up hearing the songs and sermons, sayings and tall tales that have formed an oral history of the South since the time of slavery. Returning to her hometown of Eatonville, Florida, to gather material, Zora Neale Hurston recalls "a hilarious night with a pinch of everything social mixed with the storytelling." Set intimately within...

Three hungry witches set out to eat two orphaned children while their grandmother is away at the market.

An aspect of the race problem ignored by zealous reformers: The "Pet Negro" system.

'Sweat' is an early feminist short story by Harlem Renaissance writer, Zora Neale Hurston. This pocket-sized tale presents the contrasting lives of a married couple: the sweat and toil of Delia and the leisure and privilege of her husband, Sykes. Delia works incredibly long hours as a washerwoman, making sure that she earns enough to pay rent for her and her husband's home, while also ensuring the house is clean and there is food on the table....

Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston explores a battle between physical and moral strength in this pocket-sized short story, 'Spunk'. Set in an all-Black community in rural America, this short story poses the question of whether moral strength is more powerful than physical strength. Spunk Banks is described as a 'giant'. He is unafraid of anything and when he openly flaunts his affair with Lena Kanty, Joe Kanty's wife, the other men in...

During her lifetime, Zora Neale Hurston was praised for her writing but condemned for her independence and audacity. Her work fell into obscurity until the 1970s, when Alice Walker rediscovered Hurston's unmarked grave and anthologized her writing in this groundbreaking collection for the Feminist Press. I Love Myself When I Am Laughing... And Then Again When I Am Looking Mean and Impressive established Hurston as an intellectual leader for future...

An outstanding collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism and sexism that proudly reflect African-American folk culture. Brought together for the first time in one volume, the collection includes eight of Zora Neale Hurston's 'lost' Harlem stories, which were found in forgotten periodicals and archives. These stories challenge conceptions of Hurston as an author of rural fiction and include gems that flash with her biting,...

Beloved: On a journey to find freedom, Sethe is confronted by the secrets that have haunted her for years. Then, an old friend from out of her past reenters her life. With his help, Sethe may finally be able to rediscover who she is and regain her lost sense of hope. Their eyes were watching God: A drama set in the 1920s, where free-spirited Janie Crawford's search for happiness leads her through several different marriages, challenging the mores...