The authors featured in our exhibit American Voices represent the evolution and flourishing of American writing. Writers of the 1600s and 1700s borrowed forms and themes from Europe, applying them to New World settings and issues. Then, over the course of the 1800s, a new, democratic style emerged, rooted in the way Americans talked and thought. Previously underrepresented voices began to be heard, culminating with an explosion of perspectives in the modern era. Taken together, this rich literary heritage reflects America in all of its complexity: its energy, hope, conflict, disillusionment, and creativity.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Zora Neale Hurston
1891—1960
Zora Neale Hurston arrived in New York in the 1920s and quickly took her place as one of the stars of the Harlem Renaissance. She used lyrical, evocative prose in works like Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) to bring African-American stories, voices, and places to life while exploring feminist themes well ahead of her time.
Hurston led an extraordinary life. She grew up in Eatonville, Florida, and all-Black town, leaving home in her teens and working menial jobs in order to finish high school. She came to New York to study anthropology at Columbia University. Fieldwork fueled her writing, most notably Mules and Men (1935), a collection of African-American folktales.
“I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow damned up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eye. … Even in the helter-skelter skirmish that is my life, I have seen that the world is to the strong regardless of a little pigmentation more or less. No, I do not weep at the world—I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife.”
— Zora Neale Hurston, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” (1928)
Explore more of Hurston’s work and impact in our special exhibit Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justice, in which Hurston is featured. This quilt (pictured here) was commissioned for the exhibit and includes interactive augmented reality to enhance your experience. Prints of the quilt are also available in our gift shop!
Hurston befriended many of the leading figures of the Harlem Renaissance. She was known to be friends with Langston Hughes and editor Jessie Fauset, to name just a couple. However, Hurston and Hughes had a rather famous falling out and feud, which is detailed in the first episode of our podcast series Dead Writer Drama, which is also available on most podcast streaming platforms.
Learn even more about Hurston’s life, writing, and enduring legacy on our podcast Nation of Writers. In this episode, we are joined by bestselling writer Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage and more; and scholar and professor Lindsey Stewart, author of The Politics of Black Joy: Zora Neale Hurston and Neo-Abolitionism. You can listen to this episode below, or find on your favorite podcast streaming platforms.
Select Works by Zora Neale Hurston
