The first introduction to folklorist and novelist Zora Neale Hurston occurred in high school. We read Their Eyes Were Watching God, and tore apart every bit of symbolism, metaphor & theme there was. At the time, as with most of the books we read then, i couldn’t appreciate it. Every symbol brought on a big eye-roll, and it just didn’t make sense why Janie, the main character, was so unhappy. Age brought on understanding, as it does.
Hurston first introduced me to how singular & special each part of the south can be. There is the south as a whole, but south Florida is separate from central Florida from North Florida and so on. Language became a fascination, folklore another, customs and songs and everything else. Her love of the people she was among, her stories, her apparent self-possession and strength continue to inspire. We were always out for adventure growing up, but i think Hurston taught me to really experience a place & to ask questions & to try to know people.
Florida became magical under her lens. We traveled to her grave in Fort Pierce, Florida, that author Alice Walker had installed. It was the very first time i had seen offerings - beads, drinks, coins - on any grave, ever.
My mining of stories must have begun with her. As part of the WPA, she recorded stories and customs, that are still available today. She froze a place in time: the work songs, the children’s games, the night life. She traveled to New Orleans and initiated with several voodoo doctors, went to Haiti, photographed a real-life zombie, and came back with a true understanding of the Voudou culture other Americans breezed over.
Hurston published several fiction and non-fiction books, an autobiography, and several plays. Recommended reading definitely starts with Their Eyes Were Watching God, Mules and Men, & Tell My Horse.
“Those that don't got it, can't show it. Those that got it, can't hide it.”
― Zora Neale Hurston