Zora Neale Hurston: A Biography of the Spirit

by Deborah G. Plant

Overview

This new biography takes into account the whole woman—not just the prolific author of such great works as Their Eyes Were Watching God , Moses, Man of the Mountain, Jonah's Gourd Vine, Mules and Men, as well as essays, folklore, short stories, and poetry—but the philosopher and the spiritual soul, examining how each is reflected in her career, fiction and nonfiction publications, social and political activity, and, ultimately, her death.

When we ask what animated the woman who achieved all that she did, we must necessarily probe further. Not one of the other existing biographies discusses or analyzes Hurston's spirituality in any sustained sense, even though this spirituality played a significant role in her life and works. As author Deborah G. Plant shows, Zora Neale Hurston's ability to achieve and to endure all she did came from the courage of her convictions—a belief in self that was profoundly centered and anchored in spirituality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275987510
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/30/2007
Series:	Women Writers of Color
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Deborah G. Plant is Associate Professor of Africana Studies at University of South Florida, author of Every Tub Must Sit On Its Own Bottom: The Philosophy and Politics of Zora Neale Hurston.

Table of Contents

1 Series Foreword
2 Introduction
3 One: The Essence of Things
4 Two: The Pathless Path
5 Three: ‘‘A Genius of the South'': An American Genius
6 Four: ‘‘Coming Out More Than Conquer'': Spirituality, Empowerment, Freedom, and Peace
7 Five: Who Was Herod and What Made Him Great?
8 Six: Ancestral Spirit
9 Conclusion: Sankofa

Editorial Reviews

Part reference book, part intellectual biography, part passionate defense, this release in the Women Writers of Color series concentrates more on Hurston's art and less on her life than does Valerie Boyd's Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston (2003). Plant's approach, which is accessible without being simplistic, complements that of Carla Kaplan in her eponymous edited collection of Hurston's letters (2003). Plant vaults between levels of formality, but this ingenious method bears fascinating fruit in her bravura account of the plot of Their Eyes Were Watching God, told, as in the novel, from Janie Crawford's point of view. Plant takes particular note of Hurston's unpublished work on Herod the Great, long neglected by Hurston scholars. Though her treatment of that work is a bit diffuse, Plant convincingly demonstrates the Herod project's pertinence, particularly in any revision of Hurston's later years. Plant's explanation of Hurston's alleged improvidence—that she believed money was to be spent to gain experience—gives insight into Hurston's creative soul. Also valuable are Plant's interviews of readers and advocates of Hurston's work, material that shows the reader why Hurston still resonates in the 21st century. Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and general readers.” —Choice

“Plant….adds new dimension to the body of biographical literature already published, earnestly portraying Hurston's vitality and spirituality, characteristics that enabled her to achieve innumerable accomplishments….An inspiring read recommended for all libraries.” —Library Journal

“Plant relies on previous biographies as well as interviews and correspondence with Hurston's friends and colleagues, to offer a portrait of a woman with an eclectic and searching sense of the spiritual in everyday life. Plant also explores the religious images in Hurston's work, the characters based on her own father, a preacher, and Hurston's understanding of the Baptist Church as well as other beliefs, including the voodoo practices of the West Indies. Hurston's appreciations of the transcendent in common people, her curiosity, and her own self awareness blended into an appreciation of the soul source that guided her life and her work. This is a compelling look at another side of one of the most significant literary figures of the Harlem Renaissance and American literature.” —Booklist

“A biography of writer Zora Neale Hurston, this volume focuses on her spirituality as a driving force and how it was reflected in her academic career, fiction and nonfiction, sociopolitical activity, and professional career. Plant (Africana studies, U. of South Florida) also discusses her spiritual legacy in institutions, works, curricula, performances, and festivals created in Hurston's honor. She considers her spiritual views and beliefs and her life and career in this context, drawing on Akasha Gloria Hull's concept of spirituality as containing the following aspects as a means for taking part in struggle: political and social awareness, eclectic spiritual consciousness, and enhanced creativity. The volume is for both general readers and scholars.” —Reference & Research Book News

From the Publisher

In this compelling literary biography, Deborah Plant offers new insight into that powerful foremother of modern black women writers, Zora Neale Hurston. Drawing on and synthesizing the work of previous chroniclers of Hurston's life, Plant delineates Hurston's spiritual resistance to and triumphs over the material and social obstacles that have often defeated less heroic individuals. Plant focuses Hurston's life and work through the lens of her spirituality. The result is an original and nuanced study of the many facets of Hurston's life and career-fiction writer, anthropologist, political analyst-which will delight readers and become a mainstay of future Hurston scholarship.

Virginia C. Fowler

Dr. Plant continues to exhibit her profound and thorough understanding of the complete Zora Neale Hurston and with this, her most recent publication, has established herself as the national foremost Hurston scholar.

Lucy Anne Hurston

[This work] concentrates more on Hurston's art and less on her life than does Valerie Boyd's Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston (2003). Plant's approach, which is accessible without being simplistic, complements that of Carla Kaplan in her eponymous edited collection of Hurston's letters (2003). Plant vaults between levels of formality, but this ingenious method bears fascinating fruit in her bravura account of the plot of Their Eyes Were Watching God, told, as in the novel, from Janie Crawford's point of view. Plant takes particular note of Hurston's unpublished work on Herod the Great, long neglected by Hurston scholars. Though her treatment of that work is a bit diffuse, Plant convincingly demonstrates the Herod project's pertinence, particularly in any revision of Hurston's later years. Plant's explanation of Hurston's alleged improvidence—that she believed money was to be spent to gain experience—gives insight into Hurston's creative soul. Also valuable are Plant's interviews of readers and advocates of Hurston's work, material that shows the reader why Hurston still resonates in the 21st century. Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and general readers.

Choice Reviews

Plant relies on previous biographies as well as interviews and correspondence with Hurston's friends and colleagues, to offer a portrait of a woman with an eclectic and searching sense of the spiritual in everyday life. Plant also explores the religious images in Hurston's work, the characters based on her own father, a preacher, and Hurston's understanding of the Baptist Church as well as other beliefs, including the voodoo practices of the West Indies. Hurston's appreciations of the transcendent in common people, her curiosity, and her own self awareness blended into an appreciation of the soul source that guided her life and her work. This is a compelling look at another side of one of the most significant literary figures of the Harlem Renaissance and American literature.

Booklist

A biography of writer Zora Neale Hurston, this volume focuses on her spirituality as a driving force and how it was reflected in her academic career, fiction and nonfiction, sociopolitical activity, and professional career. Plant (Africana studies, U. of South Florida) also discusses her spiritual legacy in institutions, works, curricula, performances, and festivals created in Hurston's honor. She considers her spiritual views and beliefs and her life and career in this context, drawing on Akasha Gloria Hull's concept of spirituality as containing the following aspects as a means for taking part in struggle: political and social awareness, eclectic spiritual consciousness, and enhanced creativity. The volume is for both general readers and scholars.

Reference and Research Book News

In her new study, Zora Neale Hurston: A Biography of the Spirit, Deborah Plant conjures up a new vision of Hurston, complementing existing biographies by offering a mapping of the writer's spiritual and artistic vision. Interbraiding known facts with new readings and a shrewd understanding of Hurston's philosophical, religious, and intellectual bricolage, Plant's eloquent and convincing study reminds us of the complexity, curiosity, and boundless energy of this protean writer, who now, more than ever occupies the vital center of African American, women's, Southern, and national literatures.

John Lowe