2. ïĄ "I have the nerve to walk my own way, however hard, in my
search for reality, rather than climb upon the rattling wagon
of wishful illusions."
- Letter from Zora Neale Hurston to Countee Cullen
3. CHILDHOOD
ïĄ B. January 7, 1891
ï§ Notasulga, Alabama
ïĄ Moved to Eatonville, Florida as a toddler
ï§ Eatonville was always home
ï§ Slightly idealized
4. EATONVILLE
ïĄ Eatonville was the nationâs first
incorporated black township. It was
established in 1887. Growing up here
influenced ZNH greatlyâshe was
surrounded by positive, black role -
models.
5. TRAGEDY STRIKES
ïĄ Hurston's mother died in 1904. Zora was only 13.
ïĄ She said, "That hour began my wanderings. Not so much in
geography, but in time. Then not so much in time as in spirit .â
ïĄ Her father quickly remarried
ï§ Zora and her stepmother did not get along
ï§ Leaves home
6. GOING BACK IN TIME
ïĄ In 1917, ZNH ended up in Baltimore where she knocked ten
years of f her age so she could finish high school. She was ten
years younger from that day onâŠ
7. ZNH AND THE RENAISSANCE
ïĄ Zora graduated from Barnard college in 1928, where she had
writtenâand publishedâseveral stories and articles.
ïĄ She âelbowedâ her way into the Harlem Renaissance,
befriending the likes of Langston Hughes
8. MAJOR WORKS
ïĄ Jonah's Gourd Vine (novel)
ïĄ Mules and Men (a collection of folklore).
ïĄ Their Eyes Were Watching God (novel, 1937)
ï§ Her most famous and well-received novel
ïĄ Tell My Horse (a study of Caribbean Voodoo practices , 1938)
ïĄ Moses, Man of the Mountain (novel, 1939)
ïĄ Dust Tracks on a Road, (autobiography, 1942)
9. A FAMILIAR FATE
ïĄ Like many writers of her time, Hurston was not rich, although
she was famous in her lifetime.
ïĄ She died on January 28, 1960 of a stroke.
ïĄ Her neighbors had to take up a collection for her funeral. Her
grave remained unmarked until 1973.