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Zora
Neale Hurston (1891-1960)
 In
her 1942 autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, Zora Neale Hurston
wrote, "I want a busy life, a just mind, and a timely death."
Her wishes were granted. Although Hurston was born in Eatonville,
Florida, she began her intellectual journey at Barnard College in
New York where she studied anthropology with Franz Boas, the noted
scholar. In 1928 she became the first African-American anthropologist
to graduate from Barnard College. This training served her well
as she traveled around the country collecting stories and tales
which would preserve Black culture; however, at the time, not everyone
agreed that Ms. Hurston's authentic Black folklore views were the
proper image for the Black race.
Zora
Neale Hurston was one of the first widely acclaimed Black writers
to assimilate folk tradition into modern literature. Ms. Hurston
will be remembered as a writer, scholar, researcher, and prominent
member of the Harlem Renaissance. While her literary contributions
include more than fifty articles and short stories as well as four
novels, two books on folklore, an autobiography, and a play, her
greatest value lies in her folklore research.
Related
Links
Perspective
in American Literature: A Research and Reference Guide
National
Women's Hall of Fame
Voices
from the Gap: Women Writers of Color
African American
Literature Book Club
Zora
Neale Hurston:Bibliography
American
Literature on the Web
Literary
Traveler: Zora Neale Hurston-A Literary Life
Chapter One:
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Zora Neale
Hurston
Zora
Neale Hurston: American Author
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