Zora Neale Hurston : A literary legend© Nichel Anderson
Jul 26, 2001
Zora! Zora! Zora! One of the elite women writers of the Harlem Renaissance era and the most influential to current-day African American women writers, Zora Neale Hurston is a literary legend in her own right. Scholars of classical literature have considered her writing abilities among the finest in African American literature. Today many colleges require her works to be critiqued for term papers for an in-depth analysis of her characters.
The exceptional talent of Zora was her profound ability to incorporate African-American folklore into her writings. Zora had a unique way of showing, describing and emotionally touching her readers though the different types of voices she chose to tell her stories. Many thanks goes to Alice Walker, the author of The Color Purple, for searching and then publishing in 1975, "In Search of Zora Neale Hurston" in the Ms. publication, bringing an enormous revival of Zora’s literature that was previously forgotten.BIOGRAPHY:
Zora Neale Hurston was born January 7, 1891, in Eatonville, Florida, the fifth of eight children, to John Hurston, a carpenter and Baptist preacher and Lucy Potts Hurston, a former schoolteacher. Education:
Zora attended Morgan Academy in Baltimore, which was the completion of high school requirements, and then attended Howard Prep School in Washington D.C. Later on Zora went to Howard University and received an associate's degree in 1920. She also attended Barnard College, where she studied anthropology with Franz Boas.
The 1920's:
In 1921, Zora’s first story, “John Redding Goes to Sea”, was published in The Stylus, a campus literary society’s magazine. In 1924, a short story, “Drenched in Light,” was published in Opportunity, which led to “Spunk” and a play, “Color Struck” being entered in a contest in Opportunity; both won second-place awards.
Zora began fieldwork in 1926 for Boas in Harlem. She published “John Redding Goes to Sea” in Opportunity. Zora organized Fire! with Langston Hughes and Wallace Thurman; they published only one issue, in November 1926. The issue includes Hurston’s “Sweet.” Her “Muttsy” was published in 1926 in Opportunity and the “Possum or Pig” in the Forum.
In 1927, Zora traveled to Florida to collect folklore and she married Herbert Sheen. This is also the year when she first visited Mrs. Rufus Osgood Mason seeking patronage. She also published “The Eatonville Anthology” in the Messenger and “The First One,” a play, in which was published in Charles S. Johnson’s Ebony and Topaz. She then had published an account of the black settlement at St. Augustine, Florida, in the Journal of Negro History and in the same issue also published “Cudjo’s Own Story of the Last African Slaver.”
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In response to message posted by grimaceb:
Hi Grimace, Thank you so much for visiting my site and reading Zora's biograph ...
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I recently finished doing a stage adaptation of some of the stories in this author's book, "Spunk." It was a great experience for me, and very eye opening. I encourage all to find this collection an ...
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In response to message posted by Sunbear:
Hey Thomas! Thank you for visiting. I really do appreciate your kind comments r ...
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Hi Nichel,Thanks for sharing this biography. You're doing great work here! "and Heroes are rare."
Baldwin
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In response to message posted by Renie_Burghardt:
Hey My Great Friend Renie !! Long title huh, well you deservice, you are ...
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