New Releases by Zora Neale Hurston

The acknowledgment and admiration of fiction by women of the Harlem Renaissance is growing rapidly. Their stories encompass unique premises and perceptions and, taken as a whole, they balance the historically male-dominated perspectives in Harlem Renaissance literature. Their captivating narratives reveal insights and perspectives unique to the women who experienced the Harlem Renaissance. Through their presence, perseverance, and talent, these women played a crucial role in the historical progress of Black women’s literature. This volume—a combination of two ''Short-Take'' anthologies, plus 8 bonus stories—presents the best short stories by distinguished women writers, from those who have earned more widespread attention to those who haven’t yet but are just as deserving. This informed and comprehensive collection is a combination of the stories by women most admired during the Harlem Renaissance and those most studied since then. - 25 short stories by 25 distinguished writers. - Includes a list of all the short stories by women recognized in national Harlem Renaissance literary contests. * VOLUME 1 "Sanctuary" by Nella Larsen "Mary Elizabeth" by Jessie Redmon Fauset "Wedding Day" by Gwendolyn Bennett "Hope Deferred" by Alice Dunbar-Nelson "Spunk" by Zora Neale Hurston "The Typewriter" by Dorothy West "Drab Rambles" by Marita O. Bonner “Three Dogs and a Rabbit” by Anita Scott Coleman VOLUME 2 “To a Wild Rose” by Ottie B. Graham “Days” by Brenda Ray Moryck “There Never Fell a Night So Dark” by Marie Loise French "Letters" by Idabelle Yeiser “Masks” by Eloise Bibb Thompson “Bethesda of Sinners Run” by Maude Irwin Owens “The Foolish and the Wise” by Leila Amos Pendleton “Mammy” by Adeline F. Ries “Door-stops” by May Miller MORE STORIES "Black" by Nellie Rathbone Bright "The Pink Hat" by Caroline Bond Day "In Houses of Glass" by Ethel R. Clark "Goldie" by Angelina Weld Grimke “Lai-li” by Mae V. Cowdery "The Corner" by Eunice Hunton Carter "Subversion" by Edythe Mae Gordon "Two Gentlemen of Boston" by Florida Ruffin Ridley

Fifteen writers of essays and poems share their poignant and personal views on life as African American women during the Harlem Renaissance. Some of the robust narratives are reprinted here for the first time. The poems are a few of a wide net of poetry written by women of the era that explore themes of gender and race. No matter what combination of experiences a reader brings to each piece in this volume, they are bound to be, on some level, enlightened. Essays: How it Feels to be Colored Me by Zora Neale Hurston / On Being Young—a Woman—and Colored by Marita O. Bonner / Some Notes on Color by Jessie Redmon Fauset / Black by Nellie R. Bright / The Pink Hat by Caroline Bond Day / I— by Brenda Ray Moryck / Why? by Lena Williams / The Task of Negro Womanhood by Elise Johnson McDougald. Poems: To a Dark Girl by Gwendolyn Bennett / Sybil Warns Her Sister by Anne Spencer / Goal by Mae V. Cowdery / Revelation by Blanche Taylor Dickinson / The Heart of a Woman by Georgia Douglas Johnson / The Black Finger by Angelina Weld Grimké / My Race by Helene Johnson.

''''How It Feels To Be Colored Me'''' by Florida native Zora Neale Hurston was originally published in The World Tomorrow in May 1928. In this autobiographical piece about her own color, Hurston reflects on her early childhood in an all-black Florida town and her first experiences in life feeling different. In this beautiful piece, Hurston largely focuses on the similarities we all share and on her own self-identity in the face of difference. ''''Through it all, I remain myself.''''

"En av vår tids största författare." Toni Morrison Första gången på svenska! En kväll kommer Janie Starks vandrande på Eatonvilles huvudgata. I takt med hennes steg briserar stadens nyfikenhet: Var har hon varit? Vart tog pengarna, kläderna och den unge mannen vägen? För sin närmsta vän Pheoby berättar hon om allt som tog henne dit: från de vitas bakgård till drömmarna och den dödliga dyn i Floridas träskmarker. Genom tre äktenskap, i ett rasistiskt och patriarkalt samhälle i början av 1900-talet, erövrar Janie både friheten och kärleken. Romanklassikern "De vände sina blickar mot Gud" (1937) har hyllats för sina karaktärsporträtt och sitt rika språk djupt rotat i muntlig berättartradition. Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) anses vara en av de viktigaste rösterna inom amerikansk litteratur, och en pionjär i att ge kvinnors och svarta människors erfarenheter en stark och självständig röst. "Den här starka berättelsen om mänsklig frigörelse gavs ut redan 1937. Det är hög tid att den får en svensk översättning." Dagens Nyheter "Jag slukade boken. Tre timmar senare var jag klar och grät floder, av skäl som både hade och inte hade med det tragiska slutet att göra." Zadie Smith

A never before published novel from beloved author Zora Neale Hurston, revealing the historical Herod the Great--not the villain the Bible makes him out to be but a religious and philosophical man who lived a life of valor and vision. In the 1950s, as a continuation of Moses, Man of the Mountain, Zora Neale Hurston penned a historical novel about one of the most infamous figures in the Bible, Herod the Great. In Hurston''s retelling, Herod is not the wicked ruler of the New Testament who is charged with the "slaughter of the innocents," but a forerunner of Christ--a beloved king who enriched Jewish culture and brought prosperity and peace to Judea. From the peaks of triumph to the depths of human misery, the historical Herod "appears to have been singled out and especially endowed to attract the lightning of fate," Hurston writes. An intimate of both Marc Antony and Julius Caesar, the Judean king lived during the first century BCE, in a time of war and imperial expansion that was rife with political assassinations and bribery, as the old world gave way to the new. Portraying Herod within this vivid and dynamic world of antiquity, little known to modern readers, Hurston''s unfinished manuscript brings this complex, compelling, and misunderstood leader fully into focus. Hurston shared her findings about Herod''s rise, his reign, and his waning days in letters to friends and associates. Text from three of these letters concludes the manuscript in an intimate way. Scholar-Editor Deborah Plant''s "Commentary: A Story Finally Told" assesses Hurston''s pioneering work and underscores Hurston''s perspective that the first century BCE has much to teach us and that the lens through which to view this dramatic and stirring era is the life and times of Herod the Great.

Janie Stark, la protagonista del romanzo più celebre di Zora Neale Hurston, sembra un’avventuriera sospesa tra le riflessioni del femminismo contemporaneo e una dimensione ancestrale, in cui la sopraffazione di una donna nera si riflette anche nell’ecosistema, in questo romanzo vorticoso fatto di viaggi e uragani. Difficile credere che Janie sia nata ufficialmente nel 1937, l’anno in cui Their Eyes Were Watching God venne pubblicato per la prima volta negli Stati Uniti, tanto sono vivide le impressioni sulla sua battaglia di vita. In un’atmosfera tesa tra l’incanto primaverile e la schiacciante realtà, Janie Stark prova a ricavarsi una nicchia che vada bene per lei e lei soltanto. Nel romanzo è una donna nera di quarant’anni intenta a raccontarsi a un’amica attraverso degli squarci nel passato. Nel tentativo di motivare le scelte che le hanno procurato il biasimo della città, Janie ricorda la scoperta della bellezza quando era un’adolescente; il primo dolore nel piegarsi alle decisioni altrui; il matrimonio infelice con un uomo che la voleva diversa; la fuga con Joe – uomo ambizioso e di sostanza, deciso a diventare qualcuno – che poi si dimostra arrogante e violento; e infine la vera primavera: l’incontro con il giovane Tea Cake, forse la sua unica esperienza d’amore. Insieme, Janie e Tea Cake attraversano il paese, si reinventano come raccoglitori stagionali di fagioli, sfidando le convenzioni e beandosi della gioia di un amore autentico. Eppure anche lui è in preda a gelosie incontrollabili e, quando un uragano li colpisce, Janie sarà costretta a decretare la fine di quella storia d’amore e a tornare alla sua vita di prima attraverso un atto violento. L’esperienza della felicità, benché perduta, le resta addosso come una presenza, come un velo. Con gli occhi rivolti al cielo è un libro fatto di ripetizioni – tre matrimoni e tutti finiti male – e di ambizione perché, in tutte le sue giravolte, Janie è decisa a spezzare la sequenza della sua oppressione, al rischio di essere fraintesa. Se si prende questo romanzo in mano per il contenuto, è per la lingua che si resta, perché è proprio nello stile che si sente la forza di una scrittrice diventata studiosa di sé stessa. Claudia Durastanti “Una delle più grandi autrici del nostro tempo.” Toni Morrison “Un romanzo sospeso tra le riflessioni del femminismo contemporaneo e una dimensione ancestrale.” Claudia Durastanti

The Mule-Bone; A comedy of Negro life in three acts, a classical book, has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we at Alpha Editions have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies of their original work and hence the text is clear and readable.

An Instant New York Times and Indie Bestseller! In the first middle grade offering from Zora Neale Hurston and Ibram X. Kendi, young readers are introduced to the remarkable and true-life story of Cudjo Lewis, one of the last survivors of the Atlantic human trade, in an adaptation of the internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed Barracoon. This is the life story of Cudjo Lewis, as told by himself. Of the millions of men, women, and children transported from Africa to America to be enslaved, eighty-six-year-old Cudjo Lewis was then the only person alive to tell the story of his capture and bondage—fifty years after the Atlantic human trade was outlawed in the United States. Cudjo shared his firsthand account with legendary folklorist, anthropologist, and writer Zora Neale Hurston. Adapted with care and delivered with age-appropriate historical context by award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi, Cudjo’s incredible story is now available for young readers and emerging scholars. With powerful illustrations by Jazzmen Lee-Johnson, this poignant work is an invaluable contribution to our shared history and culture.

At low tide the hull of the Clotilde can be seen a little even now, in the marsh of Bayou Corne, in Alabama, where she was scuttled and sunk. She was the last ship to bring a cargo of “black ivory” to the United States—stealing into Mobile Bay on a sultry night in August, 1859, only two years before Abraham Lincoln was elected and only five years before Emancipation. The progeny of those last-minute slaves today still live in Alabama, mostly in the untidy clapboard village of Plateau, long also known as African Town.

A First Folktale from the creators of Magnolia Flower, Zora Neale Hurston and Ibram X. Kendi, about the origin of butterflies. The Creator wuz all finished and thru makin'' de world. But soon, the Creator finds themselves flying through the sky, making gorgeous butterflies of every color, shape, and size. Find out why butterflies were made in Zora Neale Hurston''s stunning and layered African American folktale retold by #1 New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-winning author Ibram X. Kendi and illustrated by Kah Yangni. This accessible and sizable board book is perfect for introducing the youngest of readers to the beauty of Hurston''s storytelling and will spark curiosity in children about how things in our world came to be.

Zora Neale Hurston’s tragic 1926 play Color Struck is a thought-provoking commentary on colorism within the Black community. Set in Florida in 1900, Colour Struck begins on a Jim Crow train carriage. Barely making the train, Emma and John''s journey commences with an argument. Emma saw John speaking to a lighter-skinned Black woman, Effie, and was immediately jealous, assuming he was flirting. Throughout the play Emma continues to display animosity towards those with lighter skin, which often results in calamity. Exploring themes of colorism, self-destruction, and hatred, Zora Neale Hurston’s 1926 tragedy comments on intra-racial racism and warns of the adverse effects of harbouring hatred. Color Struck was first published in Fire!! magazine and won second prize in the Opportunity magazine’s contest for best play. Now republished in a new edition, Hurston’s play is not one to be missed by those with an interest in Harlem Renaissance literature.

A Kirkus and Shelf Awareness Best Book of 2022! A Bank Street College of Education’s Children’s Book Committee’s Best Children’s Books of the Year pick! From beloved African American folklorist Zora Neale Hurston comes a moving adaptation by National Book Award winner and #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist and Antiracist Baby, Ibram X. Kendi. Magnolia Flower follows a young Afro Indigenous girl who longs for freedom and is gorgeously illustrated by Loveis Wise (The People Remember, Ablaze with Color). Born to parents who fled slavery and the Trail of Tears, Magnolia Flower is a girl with a vibrant spirit. Not to be deterred by rigid ways of the world, she longs to connect with others, who too long for freedom. She finds this in a young man of letters who her father disapproves of. In her quest to be free, Magnolia must make a choice and set off on a journey that will prove just how brave one can be when leading with one’s heart. The acclaimed writer of several American classics, Zora Neale Hurston wrote this stirring folktale brimming with poetic prose, culture, and history. It was first published as a short story in The Spokesman in 1925 and later in her collection Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick (2020). Tenderly retold by #1 New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-winning author Ibram X. Kendi, Magnolia Flower is a story of a transformative and radical devotion between generations of Indigenous and Black people in America. With breathtaking illustrations by Loveis Wise, this picture book reminds us that there is no force strong enough to stop love.

Tales as old as time, retold with utmost grace. From the storyteller and anthropologist who grew up hearing the songs and sermons, sayings and tall tales that have formed an oral history since the time of slavery, comes the treasury of Black America''s folklore. Set intimately within the social context of Black life, the stories, "big old lies," songs, voodoo customs, and superstitions recorded in these pages capture the imagination and bring back to life the humour and wisdom that is the unique heritage of Black Americans.

"Zora Neale Hurston Boxed Set includes: Dust Tracks on a Road--an intimate and insightful memoir of Zora''s childhood in the rural South and her rise to prominence during the Harlem Renaissance. Jonah''s Gourd Vine--a novel about a young man who loves too many women. Mules and Men--an oral history of Black American folklore featuring sermons, songs, sayings, and tall tales since the days of enslavement. Tell My Horse--an insider look at the voodoo culture of Haiti and Jamaica of the 1930s. The Complete Stories--a collection of Zora''s most popular short fiction. Every Tongue Got to Confess--an anthology of folktales that recounts the voices of ordinary people and celebrates the richness of Black vernacular. Moses, Man of the Mountain--a compelling allegory of power, redemption, and faith that blends the Moses of the Old Testament with the Moses of black folklore and song. Seraph on the Suwanee--a novel examining a complicated marriage. Mule Bone--a three-act play written with Langston Hughes that explores life in a rural Southern black community. Their Eyes Were Watching God--the Southern love story that is the most highly acclaimed novel in the African-American literary canon." -- Amazon.com (viewed on September 26, 2023)

"Zora Neale Hurston Boxed Set includes: Dust Tracks on a Road--an intimate and insightful memoir of Zora''s childhood in the rural South and her rise to prominence during the Harlem Renaissance. Jonah''s Gourd Vine--a novel about a young man who loves too many women. Mules and Men--an oral history of Black American folklore featuring sermons, songs, sayings, and tall tales since the days of enslavement. Tell My Horse--an insider look at the voodoo culture of Haiti and Jamaica of the 1930s. The Complete Stories--a collection of Zora''s most popular short fiction. Every Tongue Got to Confess--an anthology of folktales that recounts the voices of ordinary people and celebrates the richness of Black vernacular. Moses, Man of the Mountain--a compelling allegory of power, redemption, and faith that blends the Moses of the Old Testament with the Moses of black folklore and song. Seraph on the Suwanee--a novel examining a complicated marriage. Mule Bone--a three-act play written with Langston Hughes that explores life in a rural Southern black community. Their Eyes Were Watching God--the Southern love story that is the most highly acclaimed novel in the African-American literary canon." -- Amazon.com (viewed on September 26, 2023)

" Um clássico de Zora Neale Hurston que conta a história épica de Janie Crawford em sua busca por uma identidade.Uma jornada sobre o amor, as alegrias e as tristezas da vida. Aclamado como o mais belo romance da literatura negra norte-americana de sua época, Seus olhos viam Deus descreve a trajetória de Janie Crawford, uma heroína afro-americana que enfrenta o tabu de escolher o próprio destino na Flórida da década de 1930. Hurston não escreve, especificamente, sobre a discriminação num mundo dominado por brancos — o que lhe rendeu algumas críticas de militantes pelos direitos dos negros —, mas é precisa na construção da tensão dos relacionamentos. O uso de dialetos e da linguagem coloquial em Seus olhos viam Deus atraiu para a escritora a crítica de outros autores negros, que a acusavam de uma atitude paternalista em relação aos brancos. Para estes, Hurston concedia aos brancos os estereótipos culturais negros esperados pela classe dominante. A escritora, que chegou a ganhar uma bolsa de estudos da Fundação Guggenheim em 1937, foi recebida com certa resistência por autores ligados ao Renascimento do Harlem e praticamente ignorada nos anos 1950 e 1960. Anos mais tarde, no entanto, quando aslutas dos movimentos negros abriram espaço para a literatura negra nas universidades dos Estados Unidos, o talento literário de Zora foi reconhecido ao lado de grandes figuras do feminismo negro, como Audre Lorde e Alice Walker, e a admiração tomou o lugar da crítica. Surgia assim um amplo movimento liderado por pensadoras e ativistas afro-americanas, dedicadas a traçar as matrilinhagens da intelectualidade negra, e que reverenciam Seus olhos viam Deus como uma “obra-mestra” (ou maestrapiece, como propôs Alice Walker). Seus olhos viam Deus acompanha o retorno à terra natal, depois de uma longa ausência, de Janie Crawford. Seus compatriotas, principalmente as mulheres, são desinteressantes e nada amistosos, sempre fofocando, engalfinhados em cochichos na porta de casa. O assunto preferido de Janie são suas aventuras amorosas: casada aos 12 anos com um homem muito mais velho — e muito mais rico —, por intervenção da avó, ela foge em busca de um caminho próprio. A heroína de Seus olhos viam Deus incorpora o inconformismo com o status quo. Uma revolta contra o que se espera de uma mulher pobre e negra. Ela denuncia a violência contra as mulheres em geral e as negras em particular. Casada três vezes e acusada de matar um dos maridos, Janie Crawford atrai para si a inveja das mulheres e o ódio dos homens. A miríade de emoções que a volta da filha pródiga causa aos moradores da pequena cidade nos confins da Flórida leva Janie a tentar se justificar, abrindo seus segredos para a amiga Pheoby. “Não há livro mais importante que esse.” - Alice Walker, autora de A cor púrpura “Há uma bela simetria entre texto e contexto no caso de Seus olhos viam Deus: o livro afirma e celebra a cultura negra (...).” - Mary Helen Washington, crítica literária, ensaísta, professora da Universidade de Maryland "

From “one of the greatest writers of our time” (Toni Morrison)—the author of Barracoon and Their Eyes Were Watching God—a collection of remarkable stories, including eight “lost” Harlem Renaissance tales now available to a wide audience for the first time. New York Times’ Books to Watch for Buzzfeed’s Most Anticipated Books Newsweek’s Most Anticipated Books Forbes.com’s Most Anticipated Books E!’s Top Books to Read Glamour’s Best Books Essence’s Best Books by Black Authors In 1925, Barnard student Zora Neale Hurston—the sole black student at the college—was living in New York, “desperately striving for a toe-hold on the world.” During this period, she began writing short works that captured the zeitgeist of African American life and transformed her into one of the central figures of the Harlem Renaissance. Nearly a century later, this singular talent is recognized as one of the most influential and revered American artists of the modern period. Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick is an outstanding collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism and sexism that proudly reflect African American folk culture. Brought together for the first time in one volume, they include eight of Hurston’s “lost” Harlem stories, which were found in forgotten periodicals and archives. These stories challenge conceptions of Hurston as an author of rural fiction and include gems that flash with her biting, satiric humor, as well as more serious tales reflective of the cultural currents of Hurston’s world. All are timeless classics that enrich our understanding and appreciation of this exceptional writer’s voice and her contributions to America’s literary traditions.

The foundational, classic anthology that revived interest in the author of Their Eyes Were Watching God—"one of the greatest writers of our time"—and made her work widely available for a new generation of readers (Toni Morrison). During her lifetime, Zora Neale Hurston was praised for her writing but condemned for her independence and audacity. Her work fell into obscurity until the 1970s, when Alice Walker rediscovered Hurston''s unmarked grave and anthologized her writing in this groundbreaking collection for the Feminist Press. I Love Myself When I Am Laughing... And Then Again When I Am Looking Mean and Impressive established Hurston as an intellectual leader for future generations of black writers. A testament to the power and breadth of Hurston''s oeuvre, this edition—newly reissued for the Feminist Press''s fiftieth anniversary—features a new preface by Walker. "Through Hurston, the soul of the black South gained one of its most articulate interpreters." —The New York Times

"Maybe, now, we used-to-be black African folks can be of some help to our brothers and sisters who have always been white. You will take another look at us and say that we are still black and, ethnologically speaking, you will be right. But nationally and culturally, we are as white as the next one. We have put our labor and our blood into the common causes for a long time. We have given the rest of the nation song and laughter. Maybe now, in this terrible struggle, we can give something else—the source and soul of our laughter and song. We offer you our hope-bringer, High John de Conquer." Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) was an influential author of African-American literature and anthropologist, who portrayed racial struggles in the early 20th century American South, and published research on Haitian voodoo. Of Hurston''s four novels and more than 50 published short stories, plays, and essays, her most popular is the 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Originally published in The American Mercury (1943).

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Barracoon désigne les bâtiments utilisés pour le confinement des Africains destinés à être vendus et exportés vers l’Europe et les Amériques. Ces bâtiments allaient du modeste « abri à esclaves » aux imposantes « maisons d’esclaves » ou « châteaux d’esclaves ». Les captifs y restaient souvent confinés pendant des mois entiers. En 1927, la jeune anthropologue Zora Neale Hurston, qui va devenir l’une des plus grandes écrivaines noires du XXe siècle part rencontrer en Alabama Cudjo Lewis. A 86 ans, Cudjo est l’ultime survivant du dernier convoi négrier qui a quitté les côtes du Dahomey pour l’Amérique. Pendant des mois, Zora va recueillir sa parole, devenir son amie, partager ses souffrances et des fiertés. Le témoignage de Cudjo restitue comme nul autre la condition, la vie d’un esclave : de sa capture en 1859 par un village voisin à sa terrifiante traversée, de ses années d’esclavage jusqu’à la guerre de sécession, jusqu’à son combat pour son émancipation. Un témoignage unique d’une sincérité et d’une précision bouleversante.

A candid, funny, bold and poignant autobiography from one of literature''s most cherished voices. Dust Tracks on a Road is the enthralling account of Zora Neale Hurston''s rise from an impoverished childhood in the rural South to celebrated artist of the Harlem Renaissance. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.

Holiding an exceptional place in the history of African-American theater, Mule Bone is the energetic and often farcical play co-written by Harlem Renaissance luminaries Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. The play centers on a two-man song-and-dance team and the woman who comes between them. Jealousy between the men erupts with the use of a mule bone as a weapon, and the ensuing hilarity and chaos splits the town into two factions. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.

« Janie avait seize ans. Un feuillage vernissé et des bourgeons tout près d''éclore et le désir de prendre à bras-le-corps la vie, mais la vie semblait se dérober. Où donc étaient-elles, ses abeilles chanteuses à elle ? » Il ne lui faudra pas moins de trois mariages et trois vies – avec le vieux Logan Killicks et ses sentiments trop frustes, le fringant Joe Starks et ses ambitions politiques dévorantes, puis la promesse d''égalité, l''étreinte d''amour et le frisson extatique qu''incarne Tea Cake – pour atteindre toute la mesure de son rêve d''émancipation et de liberté. Portrait d''une femme entière, animée par la force de son innocence pour braver la rumeur du monde et se révéler à l''existence, Mais leurs yeux dardaient sur Dieu est un chef-d''oeuvre, un monument de la littérature, aussi percutant aujourd''hui que lors de sa parution aux États-Unis en 1937.

Three classic short form plays by the inimitable Zora Neale Hurston.

GOLD ANNIVERSARY EDITIONTheir Eyes Were Watching God is a 1937 novel and the best known work by African-American writer Zora Neale Hurston. The novel narrates main character Janie Crawford''s "ripening from a vibrant, but voiceless, teenage girl into a woman with her finger on the trigger of her own destiny." As a young woman, who is fair-skinned with long hair, she expects more out of life, but comes to realize that people must learn about life ''fuh theyselves'' (for themselves), just as people can only go to God for themselves. Set in central and southern Florida in the early 20th century, the novel was initially poorly received, but today, it has come to be regarded as a seminal work in both African-American literature and women''s literature. TIME included the novel in its 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels published since 1923.

One of the New York Times'' Most Memorable Literary Moments of the Last 25 Years! • New York Times Bestseller • TIME Magazine’s Best Nonfiction Book of 2018 • New York Public Library’s Best Book of 2018 • NPR’s Book Concierge Best Book of 2018 • Economist Book of the Year • SELF.com’s Best Books of 2018 • Audible’s Best of the Year • BookRiot’s Best Audio Books of 2018 • The Atlantic’s Books Briefing: History, Reconsidered • Atlanta Journal Constitution, Best Southern Books 2018 • The Christian Science Monitor’s Best Books 2018 • “A profound impact on Hurston’s literary legacy.”—New York Times “One of the greatest writers of our time.”—Toni Morrison “Zora Neale Hurston’s genius has once again produced a Maestrapiece.”—Alice Walker A major literary event: a newly published work from the author of the American classic Their Eyes Were Watching God, with a foreword from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker, brilliantly illuminates the horror and injustices of slavery as it tells the true story of one of the last-known survivors of the Atlantic slave trade—abducted from Africa on the last "Black Cargo" ship to arrive in the United States. In 1927, Zora Neale Hurston went to Plateau, Alabama, just outside Mobile, to interview eighty-six-year-old Cudjo Lewis. Of the millions of men, women, and children transported from Africa to America as slaves, Cudjo was then the only person alive to tell the story of this integral part of the nation’s history. Hurston was there to record Cudjo’s firsthand account of the raid that led to his capture and bondage fifty years after the Atlantic slave trade was outlawed in the United States. In 1931, Hurston returned to Plateau, the African-centric community three miles from Mobile founded by Cudjo and other former slaves from his ship. Spending more than three months there, she talked in depth with Cudjo about the details of his life. During those weeks, the young writer and the elderly formerly enslaved man ate peaches and watermelon that grew in the backyard and talked about Cudjo’s past—memories from his childhood in Africa, the horrors of being captured and held in a barracoon for selection by American slavers, the harrowing experience of the Middle Passage packed with more than 100 other souls aboard the Clotilda, and the years he spent in slavery until the end of the Civil War. Based on those interviews, featuring Cudjo’s unique vernacular, and written from Hurston’s perspective with the compassion and singular style that have made her one of the preeminent American authors of the twentieth-century, Barracoon masterfully illustrates the tragedy of slavery and of one life forever defined by it. Offering insight into the pernicious legacy that continues to haunt us all, black and white, this poignant and powerful work is an invaluable contribution to our shared history and culture.

" ACT I SETTING: A Negro village in Florida in our own time. All action from viewpoint of an actor facing audience. PLACE: Joe Clarke''s store porch in the village. A frame building with a false front. A low porch with two steps up. Door in center of porch. A window on each side of the door. A bench on each side of the porch. Axhandles, hoes and shovels, etc. are displayed leaning against the wall. Exits right and left. Street is unpaved. Grass and weeds growing all over. TIME: It is late afternoon on a Saturday in summer. Before the curtain rises the voices of children are heard, boisterous at play. Shouts and laughter. VOICE OF ONE BOY Naw, I don''t want to play wringing no dish rag! We gointer play chick mah chick mah craney crow. GIRL''S VOICE Yeah, less play dat, and I''m gointer to be de hen. [...]".

Florida 1928. In einer einzigen Nacht erzählt Janie ihrer besten Freundin Pheoby wie sie aufbrach, ein anderes Leben zu führen, den viel jüngeren Tea Cake traf, endlich das Glück fand, und was geschah, als der große Hurrikan kam ... Von ihrer Reise kehrt Janie als ein neuer Mensch zurück - und mit ihr alle, die ihre Geschichte hören. Der Klassiker aus den USA, zum 120. Geburtstag der Autorin neu übersetzt, gehört zu den schönsten, traurigsten und herzergreifendsten Liebesgeschichten, die je geschrieben wurden.