Zora Neale Hurston, Harlem Renaissance Writer by Katie Marsico
Zora Neale Hurston "I Have Been in Sorrow's Kitchen" by Laura Baskes Litwin
Zora Neale Hurston, Author by Paul Witcover
"What waits for me in the future? I do not know. I cannot even imagine, and I am glad for that. But already, I have touched the four corners of the horizon, for from hard searching it seems to me that tears and laughter, love and hate, make up the sum of life."
-Zora Neale Hurston
All of these books are categorized as juvenile biography even though I located them in the adult biography section of the library. I knew they would be quick and easy reads to help me prepare for a lecture I will be doing this summer. I often choose "kiddy lit" when I want some boiled-down nonfiction to give me background for a class or trip. These did not disappoint: all less than 115 pages with photos, timelines and helpful indices.
In the Florida Authors class I am teaching, I will have students read Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora which is an autobiography. I had been told some time ago that it is not necessarily true to life and is suspected to have been somewhat embellished by the author. I thought by reading a few biographies before Dust Tracks... I would have facts to compare to Zora's account.
I found all the biographies very interesting---the woman had an amazingly full life, though not an easy one. She seems to have been very brilliant, creative and strong-willed with a good sense of humor. Our book club read Their Eyes Were Watching God, considered her master work, a few years ago. I enjoyed it but not everyone in the group did.
So now I am ready and looking forward to Dust Tracks on a Road.
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