Zora Neale Hurston reveals her strength as a writer through character development and use of narration. Her 1939 novel, Moses, Man of the Mountain, tells the story of Moses and the Book of Exodus from an African-American perspective.
The Zora Neale Hurston Digital archive describes the book:
“Moses, Man of the Mountain is Zora Neale Hurston’s attempt at re-writing (or re-righting) the Bible from an Afro-American perspective. She retells the story of the Exodus, which is the triumphant tale of Moses and the Israelites’ escape from Egyptian slavery.” Read More→
Having been forgotten, then rediscovered in a major way, it’s rare to find interviews with Zora Neale Hurston written in her time.
Here’s a newspaper article in which she was interviewed as she burst on the literary scene in the 1934, when her first novel, Jonah’s Gourd Vine, was published.
This article was published in The Richmond Item, Nov. 14, 1934. Of course, it contains some of the parlance and attitudes of that time. Read More→
Tell My Horse by Zora Neale Hurston (1938), is based on her firsthand research of Voodoo practices in Haiti and Jamaica.
The esteemed twentieth century author is best known for the 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God; what’s less well known about about her is that she was a trained anthropologist.
Zora was the first black student at Barnard College, the women’s college connected with Columbia. She studied with the noted anthropologist Franz Boas, who recognized her talent for storytelling and abiding interest in black cultures of the American South and Caribbean. Read More→
Flannery O’Connor (1925 – 1964) was best known for her short stories that were in the genre of Southern Gothic. She enjoyed imparting wisdom on her craft, as you’ll find in the following selection of Flannery O’Connor quotes on writing and literature.
Despite poor health she wrote every day, eventually producing two novels and more than thirty short stories in an all-too-brief life. She always stood somewhat apart, an observer; there was nothing she wanted to do other than write.
At the age of 24, she was ready to begin her writing career in earnest and produced iconic stories like A Good Man is Hard to Find. She had a lot to say about the writing life, which you’ll find ahead. She was only 39 when she died. Read More→
This analysis of The Giant Wistaria (1891) — a chilling short ghost story by classic feminist author Charlotte Perkins Gilman was contributed by Jillian McKeown, excerpted from Feminist Short Stories: Horror & Sci-Fi (Part 1).
It’s shocking once you’ve finished “The Giant Wistaria” to realize that it was published in 1891, when it seems as if it were written not so long ago.
The story takes place during two time periods, the 1700s and the 1800s. The former century begins with an English family and we’re dropped into the middle of the most scandalous of family dramas — their daughter has just given birth out of wedlock, and the parents are fleeing to England to escape any disgrace to their family name. Read More→
“A Good Man is Hard to Find,” a 1953 short story by Flannery O’Connor, remains one of this author’s most controversial works.
This story by author of modern Southern gothic was first published in 1953 in an anthology of modern writing, and in 1960, it was the eponymous title of O’Connor’s own anthology of her collected short stories. Because it has appeared in many anthologies, this story is one of her best known, if not necessarily her best.
The story begins as a man named Bailey wishes to take his family on a road trip from Georgia to Florida. His mother, who is simply called “the grandmother” argues that they should go to East Tennessee instead. She has seen a news article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that escaped murderer called “The Misfit” was spotted in Florida. Read More→
This analysis of Herland, the 1915 utopian novel by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is excerpted from an in-depth review from Exploring Feminisms by Jillian McKeown.
Years ago, I bought Herland after reading The Awakening by Kate Chopin, craving that same satisfied woman-centered feeling that I was left with as I closed Chopin’s book. As I read the first few pages of Gilman’s Utopian text about a land of only women, I noticed that it was from a man’s point of view and immediately lost interest.
I had very little interest in a man’s perspective, even if it was written by a woman. Recently, Herland has been on my mind and decided to pick it up again. Read More→
Mules and Men is a 1935 ethnographical collection by Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most celebrated writers to come out of the Harlem Renaissance.
It’s well known that Zora was an incredible storyteller, evidenced by novels including Their Eyes Were Watching God, as well as numerous short stories. She was an accomplished ethnographer as well.
Zora was the first black student at Barnard College, the women’s college connected with Columbia. She studied with the noted anthropologist Franz Boas, who recognized her talent and abiding interest in the black cultures of the American South and Caribbean. Boas urged her to pursue more research, something that Zora loved to do. Read More→
