On Vox: Zora Neale Hurston workshop at the Women's Library
Zora Neale Hurston wasn't always as well known and admired as she is today; she didn't receive huge remuneration from her books and at the end of her life was buried in an unmarked grave. The most well known of her works now, Their Eyes Were Watching God, was out of print for 30 years. It's now widely available, and has even been made into a film (which I can't quite bring myself to watch, as I love the book just that bit too much).
Their Eyes Were Watching God
I read the book back in sixth form, and it was exhilirating; both the book itself and its leading character, Janie, are vibrant. It is essentially a story of a black woman 'discovering herself' (as people are wont to say), and growing steadily into independence. This central narrative is wonderfully written and Janie is a hugely compelling character. In addition to the brilliance of the rest of the novel, Hurston - an anthropologist - crafts some lovely scenes and stories. All of the background characters are almost as vivid as the protagonist.
It's a wonderful book, I can't recommend it highly enough.
So it's great to see that the Women's Library have got a public lecture on Zora Neale Hurston at the end of this month. Hurston herself is a pretty fascinating character, as is the historical context in which she was writing, and I'm looking forward to going along and hopefully learning a little something.
Originally posted on jentastical.vox.com