Difference between revisions of "Zora Neale Hurston" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
(Imported)
 
Line 1: Line 1:
−
{{Infobox Writer
+
[[Image:Hurston-Zora-Neale-LOC.jpg|240px|right]]
−
| name        = Zora Neale Hurston
 
−
| image      = Hurston-Zora-Neale-LOC.jpg
 
−
| caption    =
 
−
| birth_date  = [[January 7]], [[1891]]
 
−
| birth_place = [[Notasulga, Alabama]], [[United States]]
 
−
| death_date  = [[January 28]], [[1960]]
 
−
| death_place = [[Fort Pierce, Florida]], [[United States]]
 
−
| occupation  = Folklorist, novelist, short story writer
 
−
| genre      =
 
−
| movement    =
 
−
| magnum_opus = '']]''
 
−
| influences  =
 
−
| influenced  =
 
−
| website    =
 
−
| footnotes  =
 
−
}}
 
  
 
'''Zora Neale Hurston''' ([[January 7]], [[1891]]–[[January 28]], [[1960]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[folkloristics|folklorist]] and author during the time of the [[Harlem Renaissance]], best known for the novel ''[[Their Eyes Were Watching God]]''.  
 
'''Zora Neale Hurston''' ([[January 7]], [[1891]]–[[January 28]], [[1960]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[folkloristics|folklorist]] and author during the time of the [[Harlem Renaissance]], best known for the novel ''[[Their Eyes Were Watching God]]''.  
Line 21: Line 5:
 
==Background and career==
 
==Background and career==
 
===Childhood===
 
===Childhood===
−
Hurston was "purposefully inconsistent in the birth dates she dispensed during her lifetime, most of which were fictitious".<ref name="Hemenway">Hemenway, Robert E. ''Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography''. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252008073. Page 13.</ref> For a long time, scholars believed that Hurston was born and raised in [[Eatonville, Florida]], with a birthdate in 1901. In the 1990s, it came to light that she was actually born in [[Notasulga, Alabama]] in 1891 (see for example Lowe, ''Jump at the Sun'', 1994); she moved to Eatonville at a young age, and spent her childhood there.
+
Hurston was "purposefully inconsistent in the birth dates she dispensed during her lifetime, most of which were fictitious".<ref name="Hemenway">Hemenway, Robert E. ''Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography''. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252008073. Page 13.</ref> For a long time, scholars believed that Hurston was born and raised in [[Eatonville, Florida]], with a birthdate in 1901. In the 1990s, it came to light that she was actually born in Notasulga, Alabama in 1891; she moved to Eatonville, the first all-black incorpoated township in the United States, at a young age, and spent her childhood there.
  
−
Hurston also lived in [[Fort Pierce, Florida]] and attended Lincoln Park Academy.  Hurston would discuss her Eatonville childhood in the 1928 essay, [http://beatl.barnard.columbia.edu/wsharpe/citylit/colored_me.htm "How It Feels To Be Colored Me"]. At age 13, her mother died and later that year, her father sent her to a private school in [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]].
+
Hurston also lived in Fort Pierce, Florida and attended Lincoln Park Academy.  Hurston would discuss her Eatonville childhood in the 1928 essay, [http://beatl.barnard.columbia.edu/wsharpe/citylit/colored_me.htm "How It Feels To Be Colored Me"]. At age 13, her mother died and later that year, her father sent her to a private school in Jacksonville.
−
 
 
−
[[Image:Zora Neale Hurston mural FLG AZ USA 6421.jpg|thumb|left|210px|Zora Neale Hurston, as depicted in a mural in [[Flagstaff, Arizona|Flagstaff]], [[Arizona]]. ]]
 
  
 
===College and anthropology===
 
===College and anthropology===
−
She began her undergraduate studies at [[Howard University]] but left after a few years, unable to support herself. She was later offered a scholarship to [[Barnard College]] where she received her [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in [[anthropology]] in 1927.  While at Barnard, she conducted [[ethnography|ethnographic]] research under her advisor, the noted anthropologist [[Franz Boas]] of [[Columbia University]]. She also worked with [[Ruth Benedict]] as well as fellow anthropology student [[Margaret Mead]] [http://beatl.barnard.columbia.edu/rothschild/cent_anth/early.html].
+
Hurston began her undergraduate studies at Howard University but left after a few years, unable to support herself. She was later offered a scholarship to Barnard College where she received her Bachelor of Arts in [[anthropology]] in 1927.  While at Barnard, she conducted ethnographic research under her advisor, the noted anthropologist [[Franz Boas]] of Columbia University. She also worked with [[Ruth Benedict]] as well as fellow anthropology student [[Margaret Mead]] [http://beatl.barnard.columbia.edu/rothschild/cent_anth/early.html].
  
 
===Career===
 
===Career===
−
Hurston applied her ethnographic training to document African American [[folklore]] in her critically acclaimed book ''Mules and Men'' (1935) along with fiction (''Their Eyes Were Watching God'') and dance, assembling and leading a finger popping group which performed works such as the 1932 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] performance ''The Great Day''. In addition, Hurston was awarded a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]] to travel to  [[Haiti]] and conduct research in 1937. She was one of the first academics to conduct an ethnographic study of the [[Voodoo|Vodun]], also a subject of study for fellow dancer/anthropologist [[Katherine Dunham]] who was then at the [[University of Chicago]] [http://www.tbwt.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=180&Itemid=30]. 
+
Hurston applied her ethnographic training to document African American folklore in her critically acclaimed book ''Mules and Men'' (1935) and merged the insights she had collected through her anthropological work with lyrical prose in her novels and plays. In 1937, Hurston was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to travel to  [[Haiti]] and conduct research. She was one of the first academics to conduct an ethnographic study of the [[Voodoo|Vodun]].
−
 
 
−
In 1954 Hurston (who had fallen upon hard times) was assigned to cover the murder trial of [[Ruby McCollum]] for the ''Pittsburgh Courier'' with journalist/author and [[American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)|civil rights]] advocate [[William Bradford Huie]].
 
  
 
===Death===
 
===Death===
−
Hurston died penniless in obscurity and was buried in an unmarked [[grave]] in [[Fort Pierce, Florida]] until African-American novelist [[Alice Walker]] and literary scholar Charlotte Hunt found and marked the grave in 1973, sparking a Hurston renaissance.  
+
Hurston died penniless in obscurity and was buried in an unmarked grave in Fort Pierce, Florida until African-American novelist [[Alice Walker]] and literary scholar Charlotte Hunt found and marked the grave in 1973, sparking a Hurston renaissance.  
−
[[image:Zora.jpg|thumb|Zora Neale Hurston]]
 
−
 
 
−
[[Fort Pierce]] celebrates Hurston annually through various events such as ''Hattitudes'', birthday parties and a several-day festival at the end of April, [http://www.zorafest.com Zora Fest.]
 
  
 
==Politics==
 
==Politics==
  
−
During her prime, Hurston was a supporter of the [[UNIA]] and [[Marcus Garvey]], casting herself in fierce opposition to [[communism]] as professed by many of her colleagues in the Harlem Rennaisance such as [[Langston Hughes]], who wrote several poems of effusive praise for the [[Soviet Union]]. Hurston thus became by far the leading black figure on the [[libertarian]] [[Old Right (United States)|Old Right]], and in 1952 she actively promoted the presidential candidacy of [[Robert Taft]].
+
During her prime, Hurston was a supporter of the UNIA and [[Marcus Garvey]], casting herself in fierce opposition to the communism professed by many of her colleagues in the Harlem Rennaisance such as [[Langston Hughes]]. Hurston thus became by far the leading black figure of the libertarian Old Right, and in 1952 she actively promoted the presidential candidacy of [[Robert Taft]].
  
−
Hurston's detachment from the wider [[American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)|civil rights movement]] was demonstrated by her opposition to the [[Supreme court#United States|Supreme Court]] ruling in the ''[[Brown v board of education|Brown v Board of Education]]'' case of 1954.  She voiced this opposition in a letter, ''[http://www.lewrockwell.com/epstein/epstein15.html Court Order Can't Make the Races Mix,]'' which was published in the ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]'' in [[August]] [[1955]]. This letter caused a furor and proved to be Hurston's last public intervention.
+
Hurston's detachment from the wider Civil Rights movement was demonstrated by her opposition to the Supreme Court] ruling in the ''Brown v Board of Education'' case of 1954.  She voiced this opposition in a letter, ''[http://www.lewrockwell.com/epstein/epstein15.html Court Order Can't Make the Races Mix,]'' which was published in the ''Orlando Sentinel'' in August 1955. This letter caused a furor and proved to be Hurston's last attempt at public activism.
  
−
==Public obscurity and acclaim==
+
===Obscurity and acclaim===
−
Hurston's work slid into obscurity for decades, for a number of reasons, cultural and political.
 
  
−
Many readers objected to the representation of [[African American Vernacular English|African American dialect]] in Hurston's novels.  Hurston's stylistic choices in terms of dialogue were influenced by her academic experiences. Thinking like a [[folklorist]], Hurston strove to represent speech patterns of the period which she documented through ethnographic research. For example (Amy from the opening of ''Jonah's Gourd Vine''):
+
Partly as a result of Hurston's unpopular political opinions, her work slid into obscurity for decades. In addition to her controversial political views, many readers objected to the representation of African-American dialect in Hurston's novels.  Hurston's stylistic choices in terms of dialogue were influenced by her anthropological training. Like a true anthropologist, Hurston strove to represent speech patterns of the period which she documented through ethnographic research. Unfortunately, this causes much of the dialogue in her novels to read like a minstrel show, as in the following excerpt from ''Their Eyes Were Watching God'':
  
 
''"Dat's a big ole resurrection lie, Ned.  Uh slew-foot, drag-leg lie at dat, and Ah dare yuh tuh hit me too.  You know Ahm uh fightin' dawg and mah hide is worth money.  Hit me if you dare!  Ah'll wash yo' tub uh 'gator guts and dat quick."''
 
''"Dat's a big ole resurrection lie, Ned.  Uh slew-foot, drag-leg lie at dat, and Ah dare yuh tuh hit me too.  You know Ahm uh fightin' dawg and mah hide is worth money.  Hit me if you dare!  Ah'll wash yo' tub uh 'gator guts and dat quick."''
  
−
Some critics during her time felt, however, that Hurston's decision to render language in this way caricatured black culture. In more recent times, however, critics have praised Hurston for her artful capture of the actual spoken idiom of the day.
+
Some critics during her time felt that Hurston's decision to render language in this way caricatured black culture. In more recent times, however, critics have praised Hurston for her sedulous attention to the actual spoken idiom of the day.
−
 
 
−
The [[conservatism|conservative]] politics of Hurston's work also hindered the public's reception of her books.  During the 1930s and 1940s when her work was published, the pre-eminent [[African American]] author was [[Richard Wright (author)|Richard Wright]]. Unlike Hurston, Wright wrote in explicitly political terms, as someone who had become disenchanted with communism, using the struggle of black Americans for respect and economic advancement as both the setting and the motivation for his work.  Other popular African American authors of the time, such as [[Ralph Ellison]], were also aligned with Wright's vision of the struggle of African Americans.  Hurston's work, which did not engage these explicit [[leftist]] political issues, simply did not fit in smoothly with this struggle.
 
−
 
 
−
With the publication of the ambitous novel ''[[Seraph on the Suwanee]]'' in 1948, Hurston burst through the tight bounds of contemporary black writing in yet another seemingly apolitical way.  This is a tale of poor whites struggling in rural Florida's citrus industry.  Black characters recede to the background.  Neither the black intelligentsia nor the white mainstream of the late 1940s could accept the notion of a black writer speaking through white characters.  Panned across the board, ''Seraph'' ended up being Hurston's last major literary effort as she retreated to small-town Florida for the rest of her life.  The text stands out, as she remarked herself, as a testimony to her own self-definition as a regional as much as a black writer.                 
 
−
 
 
−
In [[academia]], anthropologists often disdained Hurston's works as fiction, and thus unworthy of inclusion on anthropological reading lists.  [[Feminist]] critics of academia have observed that a number of novels and non-fiction works of [[confessional literature]] written by women with anthropological training that draw upon their observations and experiences were sidelined in this fashion.  Hurston's work was, in this respect, treated in the same manner as some books by [[Elsie Clews Parsons]], [[Ella Deloria]], and [[Laura Bohannon]], among others.  At the same time, when well known male anthropologists began to experiment with literary form and style in ethnography, they were often hailed for their work.  Many critics therefore perceive the lack of academic acclaim for Hurston's work to indicate a form of institutional [[sexism]].  Hurston's books have since been discussed and celebrated not only as [[African American literature]], but as [[Feminist studies|feminist literature]] as well.
 
−
 
 
−
==Revival==
 
−
*The article, ''In Search of Zora Neale Hurston'', by [[Alice Walker]] was published in the March 1975 issue of ''[[Ms. Magazine]]''. This article revived interest in her work. The re-discovery of Hurston's work coincided with the popularity and critical acclaim of authors such as [[Toni Morrison]], [[Maya Angelou]], and [[Alice Walker|Walker]] herself, whose works are centered on [[African American]] experiences which include, but do not necessarily focus upon, racial struggle.
 
−
*Biographies of Hurston include ''Wrapped in Rainbows'' by [[Valerie Boyd]] and ''Speak So You Can Speak Again'' by Hurston's niece, [[Lucy Hurston]].
 
  
−
==Film (television)==
+
The conservative]] politics of Hurston's work also hindered the public's reception of her books. During the 1930s and 1940s when her work was published, the pre-eminent African American author was [[Richard Wright]]. Unlike Hurston, Wright wrote in explicitly political terms, as someone who had become disenchanted with communism, using the struggle of black Americans for respect and economic advancement as both the setting and the motivation for his work. Other popular African American authors of the time, such as [[Ralph Ellison]], were also aligned with Wright's vision of the political struggle of African Americans. Hurston's work, which did not engage these explicit political issues, simply did not fit in smoothly with the spirit of the times.  
−
*''[[Their Eyes Were Watching God]]'' was adapted into the 2005 film ''[[Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005 television)|Their Eyes Were Watching God]]''  by [[Oprah Winfrey]]'s [[Harpo Productions]] with a teleplay by [[Suzan-Lori Parks]].
 
  
−
==Trivia==
+
With the publication of the ambitous novel ''Seraph on the Suwanee'' in 1948, Hurston burst through the tight bounds of contemporary black writing in yet another seemingly apolitical way. The novel is a tale of poor whites struggling in rural Florida's citrus industry, and although black characters are present, they recede into the background.  Neither the black intelligentsia nor the white mainstream of the late 1940s could accept the notion of a black writer speaking through white characters. Panned across the board, ''Seraph'' ended up being Hurston's last major literary effort.
−
* Hurston was a member of [[Zeta Phi Beta]] Sorority.
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==

Revision as of 17:57, 2 October 2006

Hurston-Zora-Neale-LOC.jpg

Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891–January 28, 1960) was an American folklorist and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance, best known for the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Background and career

Childhood

Hurston was "purposefully inconsistent in the birth dates she dispensed during her lifetime, most of which were fictitious".[1] For a long time, scholars believed that Hurston was born and raised in Eatonville, Florida, with a birthdate in 1901. In the 1990s, it came to light that she was actually born in Notasulga, Alabama in 1891; she moved to Eatonville, the first all-black incorpoated township in the United States, at a young age, and spent her childhood there.

Hurston also lived in Fort Pierce, Florida and attended Lincoln Park Academy. Hurston would discuss her Eatonville childhood in the 1928 essay, "How It Feels To Be Colored Me". At age 13, her mother died and later that year, her father sent her to a private school in Jacksonville.

College and anthropology

Hurston began her undergraduate studies at Howard University but left after a few years, unable to support herself. She was later offered a scholarship to Barnard College where she received her Bachelor of Arts in anthropology in 1927. While at Barnard, she conducted ethnographic research under her advisor, the noted anthropologist Franz Boas of Columbia University. She also worked with Ruth Benedict as well as fellow anthropology student Margaret Mead [1].

Career

Hurston applied her ethnographic training to document African American folklore in her critically acclaimed book Mules and Men (1935) and merged the insights she had collected through her anthropological work with lyrical prose in her novels and plays. In 1937, Hurston was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to travel to Haiti and conduct research. She was one of the first academics to conduct an ethnographic study of the Vodun.

Death

Hurston died penniless in obscurity and was buried in an unmarked grave in Fort Pierce, Florida until African-American novelist Alice Walker and literary scholar Charlotte Hunt found and marked the grave in 1973, sparking a Hurston renaissance.

Politics

During her prime, Hurston was a supporter of the UNIA and Marcus Garvey, casting herself in fierce opposition to the communism professed by many of her colleagues in the Harlem Rennaisance such as Langston Hughes. Hurston thus became by far the leading black figure of the libertarian Old Right, and in 1952 she actively promoted the presidential candidacy of Robert Taft.

Hurston's detachment from the wider Civil Rights movement was demonstrated by her opposition to the Supreme Court] ruling in the Brown v Board of Education case of 1954. She voiced this opposition in a letter, Court Order Can't Make the Races Mix, which was published in the Orlando Sentinel in August 1955. This letter caused a furor and proved to be Hurston's last attempt at public activism.

Obscurity and acclaim

Partly as a result of Hurston's unpopular political opinions, her work slid into obscurity for decades. In addition to her controversial political views, many readers objected to the representation of African-American dialect in Hurston's novels. Hurston's stylistic choices in terms of dialogue were influenced by her anthropological training. Like a true anthropologist, Hurston strove to represent speech patterns of the period which she documented through ethnographic research. Unfortunately, this causes much of the dialogue in her novels to read like a minstrel show, as in the following excerpt from Their Eyes Were Watching God:

"Dat's a big ole resurrection lie, Ned. Uh slew-foot, drag-leg lie at dat, and Ah dare yuh tuh hit me too. You know Ahm uh fightin' dawg and mah hide is worth money. Hit me if you dare! Ah'll wash yo' tub uh 'gator guts and dat quick."

Some critics during her time felt that Hurston's decision to render language in this way caricatured black culture. In more recent times, however, critics have praised Hurston for her sedulous attention to the actual spoken idiom of the day.

The conservative]] politics of Hurston's work also hindered the public's reception of her books. During the 1930s and 1940s when her work was published, the pre-eminent African American author was Richard Wright. Unlike Hurston, Wright wrote in explicitly political terms, as someone who had become disenchanted with communism, using the struggle of black Americans for respect and economic advancement as both the setting and the motivation for his work. Other popular African American authors of the time, such as Ralph Ellison, were also aligned with Wright's vision of the political struggle of African Americans. Hurston's work, which did not engage these explicit political issues, simply did not fit in smoothly with the spirit of the times.

With the publication of the ambitous novel Seraph on the Suwanee in 1948, Hurston burst through the tight bounds of contemporary black writing in yet another seemingly apolitical way. The novel is a tale of poor whites struggling in rural Florida's citrus industry, and although black characters are present, they recede into the background. Neither the black intelligentsia nor the white mainstream of the late 1940s could accept the notion of a black writer speaking through white characters. Panned across the board, Seraph ended up being Hurston's last major literary effort.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Abcarian, Richard and Marvin Klotz. "Zora Neale Hurston." In Literature: The Human Experience, 9th edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006: 1562-3.
  • Baym, Nina (ed.) "Zora Neale Hurston." In The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 6th edition, Vol. D. New York, W.W. Norton and Co., 2003: 1506-1507.
  • Beito, David T. “Zora Neale Hurston," American Enterprise (6 September/October 1995), 61-3.
  • Hemenway, Robert E. "Zora Neale Hurston." In The Heath Anthology of American Literature, 5th edition, Vol. D. Paul Lauter and Richard Yarborough (eds.). New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2006: 1577-1578.
  • Kraut, Anthea, Between Primitivism and Diaspora: The Dance Performances of Josephine Baker, Zora Neale Hurston, and Katherine Dunham, Theatre Journal 55 (2003): 433–50.
  • Miller, William, Zora Hurston and the Chinaberry Tree, Lee and Low Books, 1994. ISBN 978-1-880000-14-4
  • Visweswaran, Kamala, Fictions of Feminist Ethnography. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8166-2336-8
  • Walker, Alice. In Search of Zora Neale Hurston, Ms. Magazine, (March 1975): 74-79, 84-89.

Notes

  1. ↑ Hemenway, Robert E. Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252008073. Page 13.

Bibliography

  • Barracoon (1999)
  • Folklore, Memoirs, and Other Writings
  • Novels and Stories
  • The Complete Stories (1995)
  • Spunk (1985)
  • Mule Bone (A play written with Langston Hughes) (1996)
  • Sanctified Church (1981)
  • Seraph on the Suwanee (1948)
  • Dust Tracks on a Road (1942)
  • Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939)
  • Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)
  • Tell My Horse (1937)
  • Mules and Men (1935)
  • Jonah's Gourd Vine (1934)
  • The Gilded Six-Bits (1933)
  • How It Feels to Be Colored Me (1928)
  • Sweat (1926)

See also

External links

Wikiquote-logo-en.png
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

Retrieved from https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Zora_Neale_Hurston&oldid=115927

Content is available under Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Copyright Logo
Powered by MediaWiki