1. Why is it important to know something about the author of a story before you begin reading it? What does it help you do? What does it help you understand?
It's important to know something about the author before reading because it can help you understand what you are going to be reading and finding out more about the authors background. It can help you understand why the author is telling the story they are.
Some things about Zora Neale Hurston:
*Born on January 7th, 1891 and died on January 28th, 1960
*She published over 50 short stories, plays and essays.
* She was a writer of the Harlem Renaissance.
* She was the 5th of 8 children
*She later moved to Eatonville, Florida
* Was sent to boarding school by her step mother after her mother died in 1904.
* Studied at Howard University in 191
8 where she founded "The Hilltop," the school newspaper.
*Later got a scholarship to Barnard College and received her B.A. in Anthropology.
MAJOR WRITINGS and BRIEF DESCRIPTION:
*In 1926 she was part of a literacy magazine called "Fire!" which was about the Harlem Renaissance.
* Her first 3 novels were "Jonah's Gourd Vine," "Their Eyes Were Watching God," and "Moses, Man of the Mountain."
*Most notable novel is "Their Eyes Were Watching God"
*She published the novel "Seraph on the Suwanee" in 1948. It was about 'white trash' women and explores the images of class and gender identities.
AWARDS and HONORS:
*She recieved an Alumni Award from Howard University.
* In 1937he was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship which was to conduct ethnographic research in Jamaica and Haiti.
* In 1989, there was a drama that was aired on PBS that was titled "My Name is Zora" which was about Hurston's life.
*She was listed as one of the 100 Greatest African Americans in 2002 by scholar Molefi Kete Asante.
TYPICAL SUBJECT MATTER/ THEMES
* She mostly wrote to blacks and about blacks* Never really mentioning the whites
* Themes were art, history and literature
POPULARITY and CRITICISM
* She gained a reputation as a good novelist.
* In 1948, she was falsely accused of molesting a young boy the age of 10. This disrupted her life a lot.
* For awhile Hurston's work was considered obscured for different culture and political reasons.
* One critic named Richard Wright criticized her novel, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," saying that it had no message or thought to it.
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