Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography

by Robert E. Hemenway, Alice Walker (Foreword)

Reconstructs the events, relationships, and achievements that marked the life of the black novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist, assessing her important works and commitment to the black folk tradition

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, African American, Womens, Writing, School, Biography Memoir

408 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1977

Reviews

[Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to check out after you read most of Zora's published works. Hemenway chronicles Zora's life by highlighting and critically analyzing her many books, short stories, articles, plays, and other writings that span four decades. Hemenway essentially covers Hurston's trajectory as a writer from her early days of writing short stories during the Harlem Renaissance, to her anthropologist days when she collected folklore in Eatonville and other parts of the South, to her stint writing creative fiction in the 1930s, and finally to her last decades when she took a more political turn writing articles for magazines while still trying to publish books that were later rejected.

I enjoyed reading about the contemporary reception of her works as well as Hemenway's analysis of it. As the subtitle says this is "A Literary Biography" and as a result focuses more on her writing and to a lesser extent on her relationships, the author states in the Preface that this is not a "definitive" biography. Hemenway does give extensive coverage to Hurston's contentious relationship with figures like Langston Hughes, Mary McCleod Bethune, Alain Locke, and others.

Finally, I highly recommend you read the Foreword by Alice Walker, who is responsible for bringing Zora Hurston back to the forefront of American literature. Walker states that Hemenway's work on Zora inspired her to go search for Hurston's grave. I especially love when Walker states that Zora, Billie Holiday, and Bessie Smith form an "unholy trinity".

[Billie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't read this in years and came back to in preparing for a class. This is a very well-done biography--scholarly yet readable. Hemenway helped lay the groundwork for much of the Hurston scholarship that would follow. It's quite remarkable given how little he was really working with at the time; we have access to so much more information about Hurston now than he did when he was writing this bio.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very interesting and I learned a lot. Well-written and engaging for the non-English-major. I feel I have a much better understanding of Hurston's remarkable career and wide variety of writing, and even her as a person.

[Cameron Barham]

“Hurston knew that black folklore did not arise from a psychologically destroyed people, that in fact it was proof of a psychic help. As she put it, the folks knew how to “hit a straight lick with a crooked stick,” how to devise a communicative code that could simultaneously protest the effects of racism and maintain the secrecy of that very same protest.”, p. 51

[Cortney Mere · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally! I’ve been meaning to read this book for almost a decade! It turned out to be an interesting read that made me think about:
1. How much writers can be influenced by their audiences. Especially if they need the money if the writing to get by or if they feel bound by the whims of their publishers and benefactors. We (or at least, I) traditionally think of writing to our audience as a hallmark of good writing, but in Hurston’s case it seems to have greatly stunted some of hers.
2. It also made me think about how and why authors present “folk art.”
3. And, even though this was only a small page in the book (278),it was the first time I had considered Black American Autobiographies as a genre of its own and I think that would be an interesting study to see how (or if) that has changed over time.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed and clear-headed account of Hurston's life and work, this early biography concentrates on identifying the folk sources of Hurston's vision and also proposes complete literary analyses of her major published works.

While Zora's extravagant personality and sometimes erratic decision-making have marked her with the reputation of being alternately outrageous, glorious, paradoxical, eccentric, etc., Hemenway's bio never veers towards sensationalism; the tone remains balanced throughout and all claims and events are solidly documented.

A serious source of information.

[Raul]

The late Mr. Hemenway, former chancellor of the University of Kansas achieved a commendable feat. How he was able to collect the information he did on the life of the talented author, and analyze both her life and how it affected her writing is incredible.
We are taken on a journey with Hurston, from her days as a village child in the town of Eatonville to her commanding presence during the Harlem Renaissance to her trips to Haiti, Jamaica and New Orleans. An interesting analysis of the life and works of the talented "genius of the South".

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for a class I took in college. Very interesting to read about Hurston's life story; before I read this, I had no idea that she was also, in addition to being a writer, an anthropologist. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love this book. it gives a wonderful portrayal of her life, personality, and has thousands of interesting details. However, since Hemenway is a writer and not an anthropologist, he demeans the field and indicates that her interest in the study of culture was detrimental to her as a writer. I completely disagree with this and I believe that his assertion on this matter is unfair.

Zora's interest in her own culture is what set her apart from the "New Negro" writers of the day, by celebrating black culture just as it was. That is what was detrimental to her, everyone else didn't see the world the way she did, including her contemporaries. However it is this that also sets her apart and unique, special, and the most insightful.

[Melanie Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author occasionally argues on behalf of Hurston in subjective situtations instead of providing unbiased information. This is, however, the #1 work I've seen reference in the scholarship of Hurston, suggesting it is the definitive biography with the most comprehensive information. I recently bought a book of letters Hurston wrote herself and can't wait to read that and add it to what I've learned here.

[Paula Whitacre · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great look at the "back story" and nuances of Hurston's many books and articles.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful book about one of my favorite authors! Great resource for anyone who reads or teaches Zora Neale Hurston's works.