Skip to main content

Zora Neale Hurston, Layers Beneath the Surface of a Legend

 




Ain't I an Anthropologist, Zora Neale Hurston Beyond the Literary Icon 
Jennifer L. Freeman Marshall 
nonfiction biography 
University of Illinois Press, February 2023 

from the introduction: But rarely do we think beyond the story of her rise to iconic and canonical status as a process involving numerous individuals and a complex web of social and material factors, ideologies, and rhetorical arguments. This book explores the dynamic processes between the politics of the academy, theoretical and political movements, market trends, disciplinary movements and traditions, and the interests of individual scholars who shape our understanding of Hurston's work. 

And for those searching for a more detailed insightful review of this riveting exploration, here's the link to Reighan Gillam's review for Another Chicago Magazine 

Acknowledgments, introduction, six chapters, an epilogue, notes, references, and an exhaustive index combine to inform, engage, and inspire readers to pursue more knowledge about the life, times, associates, and legacies of Zora Neale Hurston.  


Still joyously chugging through my library jackpot pile of books shared last week (+ one more because my self-control is non-existent when it comes to books).;-) 

Happy reading & creating! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Arrivals Giving BRBF Vibes + BAC Issues

Even as my friends and I enjoyed a fantastic community event yesterday in and around the Bowie Branch of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System, there was envy in my heart for all of the attendees and participants at the Black Romance Book Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. Reports of issues of crowding just made me happy for the event organizers' success while they posted apologies and corrective strategies for crowd control during the last day.  In the meantime, the new arrivals shelves at the closest library in the neighboring county offered a variety of books by BRBF authors. "Where the Melanated Are Celebrated" indeed.   [9 books, from left to right: Positive Obsession, Communion, Big Girl Blitz (atop a bookstack), The Started Ex, Fire Sword & Sea, Leave Your Mess at Home, Archangel's Eternity, It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, First Sign of Danger]  Currently reading Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler by Susana M. Mo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Legacies of Octavia Butler & June BAC Issues

It's so exciting to read about a trailblazer who was ethical, thoughtful, generous, and funny in addition to being diligent and multifaceted.   [Positive Obsession atop a bookstack of 7 books - The Last Lady B spine showing, then 6 books showing page edges; Communion propped to the left of the bookstack]  Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler by Susana M. Morris  non-fiction biography  Amistad, 2025  Opening with a quote from Parable of the Sower, this biographer uses every word in the O.E.B. chronology, author's note, introduction, six chapters, epilogue, and acknowledgements to engage readers in an intimate personal study of this extraordinary, talented, driven woman who was vulnerable and complicated in her brilliant humanity. The author's access to the O.E.B. archives adds layers of emotional depth that enrich the context of the details of the author's personal life and creative and professional development. from the Author's Note:...
Post a Comment
Read more

Trauma and Phenoms of Color ***TLG (mostly vague) SPOILERS***

This photo cover art on the original mass market paperback edition is my personal favorite, at least until/if they release a Heated Rivalry show cast Hollanov version. (Respect to the talented artist who's crafted the illustrated covers.)  ["Rachel Reid, The Long Game" mass market paperback edition with two shirtless, muscular men in jeans, standing at an angle one in front of the other; the man in back embracing the man in front]   Recent public comments from people who've read (in any and all formats) The Long Game by Rachel Reid and feel annoyed, disappointed, frustrated with Shane inspired this post.  ****(mostly vague) SPOILERS**** Until the death of his father and breaking free of his brother, Ilya has been in a constant mindset of fight, flight or freeze for most of the nearly three decades of his life. Once he's disconnected from his toxic family dynamic, firmly established in his loving relationship with Shane, welcomed and embraced by Yuna and David, and...
Post a Comment
Read more