Zora Neale Hurston

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Zora Neale Hurston
1891-1960
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Birth
Born January 7, 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama
HOWEVER
Throughout her life, she claimed she was born on
January 7, 1901 in Eatonville, Florida.
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Parents
Mother Lucy, former school teacher. Died in1904
when Zora was only thirteen years old.
Father John, a carpenter, sharecropper, Baptist
minister, and mayor of Eatonville.
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Schooling

• 1917, Morgan Academy in Baltimore to finish high
  school.

• 1920, Howard University, received an associates
  degree.

• 1925, Barnard College to study anthropology.

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New York

• She was encouraged by many people to move out to
  New York following recognition as a writer in a
  New York magazine, Opportunity.

• Once in New York, Hurston became a part of the
  New Negro movement, later to be known as the
  Harlem Renaissance.

6
Return to Eatonville

• She returned to Eatonville following her
  graduation of Barnard College.

• There she collected material on folklore for her
  flourishing career.

7
Writing Career

• Early 1920s mark the beginning of her writing
  career, starting with college publications then
  moving up to magazines and newspapers.

• In the late 1920s writing career began to take
  off as she published several works and gained
  financial sponsorship from New Yorks elite.

• Hurston reached the peak in her writing career in
  the 1930s to early 1940s.

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Writing Career Cont.

• In the mid-1940s, her career was beginning to
  fall apart. It included a scandal, in which she
  was arrested and charged for molesting a
  ten-year-old boy. She was later acquitted.

• Her name was permanently tarnished, and she
  experienced rejection after rejection by
  publishers.

• In about 1950, Hurston made one final attempt to
  salvage her career but failed.

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Other Jobs
She could not make a living as a writer
therefore, she had to take other positions

• Teacher
• Librarian
• Domestic
• Journalist

10
Death

• Hurston suffered from a stroke and was buried in
  Fort Pierce, Florida at an unmarked grave.

• In 1973, Alice Walker placed a marker near
  Hurstons burial place. It read
• Zora Neale Hurston
• A Genius of the South
• 1901sic1960
• Novelist, Folklorist
• Anthropologist

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Her Works

• Jonahs Gourd Vine (1934)
• Mules and Men (1935)
• Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)
• Tell My Horse (1938)
• Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939)
• Dust Tracks of a Road (1942)
• Seraph on the Suwanee (1948)
• I Love Myself When I Am Laughingand Then Again
  When I Am Looking Mean and Impressive A Zora
  Neale Hurston Reader (1979)
• The Sanctified Church The Folklore Writings of
  Zora Neale Hurston (1981)
• Spunk The Selected Stories of Zora Neale Hurston
  (1985)
• Mule Bone A Comedy of Negro Life (1991)

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Zora Neale Huston
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