Early Life & Education

Zora Neale Hurston was born in 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama, to parents Lucy Potts Hurston and John Cornelius Hurston, who were both born enslaved. She was raised in Eatonville, Florida — the first town in the United States to be founded and governed by African Americans — where her father served as mayor. Young Zora experienced a culturally rich childhood and was very proud of her Florida roots.After her mother's death in 1904, Zora was sent to school in Jacksonville. The years that followed were marked by poverty and youthful rebellion — but Zora was always working and always learning. She graduated from Howard University in 1920 and Barnard College in 1928.

Early Publications & Anthropology

During the 1920s, Hurston's work with a traveling theater troupe brought her to New York City, where she became a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance (a Black cultural renaissance that took place from about 1915-1930). Her unique writing voice and undeniable intelligence made her many friends in Harlem — poet Langston Hughes and novelist Countee Cullen among them.

The publication of "John Redding Goes to Sea" in The Stylus magazine in May of 1921 and “Drenched in Light” in Opportunity magazine in 1924 helped launch Hurston's literary career. She was prolific throughout her lifetime, writing dozens of short stories, essays, poems, plays, and novels.

To see more of Zora Neale Hurston's Publications, scroll to the " Selected Works" section, below.

While pursuing her master's degree at Columbia University, Hurston studied under Frank Boas — the "Father of American Anthropology." This spurred a lifelong passion for the field. Like Boas, Hurston worked to redefine the practices of anthropology in a way that was more respectful of Indigenous populations.

Her dedication to preserving Black culture extended to Jamaica and Haiti, where she collected folk stories, learned about creole cultures, and published books like Tell My Horse (1938).

The Federal Writer's Project

Near the end of the Great Depression (1929-1939) in 1938 and 1939, Zora Neale Hurston worked for the federal government under the Federal Writer's Project. Stetson Kennedy (Florida native and iconic writer, activist) worked alongside Hurston, collecting oral histories and folklore throughout Florida.

Legacy

Zora Neale Hurston, misunderstood and underappreciated in her lifetime, left an important part of her legacy in St. Augustine. She passed away on January 28, 1960 at the age of 69.

Writer Alice Walker (author of The Color Purple) is credited with helping to revive interest in Hurston and her works in the 1970s. Walker located Hurston’s unmarked grave in Ft. Pierce, Florida, and installed a headstone at her own expense in 1973.

Hurston's induction into various halls of fame acknowledges her lasting impact. Festivals, lectures, and adaptations of her works continue to celebrate her achievements.

Zora Neale Hurston Memorial Park

In 2016, a greenspace on the corner of Ponce de Leon Blvd and King St. was named the Zora Neale Hurston Memorial Park. The many people passing the park daily are reminded of Zora Neale Hurston's contributions to American literature and her commitment to preserving African American culture, especially in her home state of Florida.

Selected Works

Many of Zora Neale Hurston's works fall under the public domain and can be found online for free. Here are but a few of those works.

Clicking the links below will take you to an external browser.

  • 1924 — "Drenched in Light," an autobiographical short story about Zora's childhood in Eatonville. 
  • 1926 — "Color Struck," a stageplay that follows a group of young Black people attending a Cake Walk event in St. Augustine, Florida. 
  • 1934 — Jonah's Gourd Vine, Hurston's debut novel that follows a young couple who moves to Eatonville, Florida.
  • 1935 — Mules and Men, an anthropological collection of folk stories, personal anecdotes, songs, and sermons from Zora Neale Hurston's time in Eatonville, Florida.
  • 1937 — Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston's best known novel, which follows the life of Janie Crawford in central and southern Florida. 
  • 1938 — Tell My Horse, an anthropological account of Haitian culture and religion.
  • 1942 — Dust Tracks on a Road, an autobiography that Hurston completed while staying here in St. Augustine. 
  • 1948 — Seraph on the Suwanee, the last novel Hurston published before her death, which explores the life of a family of Florida "Crackers."
  • 1991 — Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life, written with Langston Hughes. 
 

Bibliography & Resources

Heyman, Anne C. “Where History Lives: Author Zora Neale Hurston wrote from King Street home in St. Augustine.” The St. Augustine Record, October 14, 2013. Accessed February 2024. .

Norwood, Arlisha. "Zora Hurston." National Women's History Museum. 2017. Accessed February 2024. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/zora-hurston.

State Library and Archives of Florida. "Learning Unit: Zora Neale Hurston and the WPA in Florida." Accessed February 2024. .University of Central Florida. Zora Neale Hurston Digital Archive, et al. Accessed February 2024.
Wooster, Casey & Lourdes Santamaria-Wheeler. “Zora Neale Hurston in St. Augustine, Florida.” Exhibits at the University of Florida Libraries, July 25, 2022. Accessed February 2024. .

Further Reading

Adno, Michael. "The Sum of Life: Zora Neale Hurston." The Bitter Southerner, September 29, 2019. Accessed February 2024. .

Hond, Paul. "How Zora Neale Hurston's Love for a Fellow Columbia Student Changed American Literature." Columbia Magazine, March 23, 2022. Accessed February 2024. .

Russell, Mary Catherine. "Zora Neale Hurston: Scientist, Folklorist, Storyteller." Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee, January 2017. Accessed February 2024. .