-
Zora Neale Hurston Born
Hurston was born on January 7, 1891, in Notasulga, Alabama. Zora was the 5th of 8 children. Born to a Baptist minister, tenant farmer, carpenter, and local government official and a school teacher. -
The Big Move to Eatonville
When Zora was three years old her family moved to Eatonville, Florida, which was the first incorporated black community in America. Her father soon after became the mayor of Eatonville. In Zora's writings she glorified Eatonville and the fact that black Americans could live without the prejudices of living within a white society. -
Leaving Home
At age sixteen she left her household responsibilities behind her to become a member of a traveling theater. She had been forced to take care of her brothers and act as a mother after her mother died. -
Highschool Graduation
Graduated from Morgan Academy, which was the high school division of Morgan College- which has sense become Morgan State University. -
Period: to
Zora during the Harlem Renaissance
Zora is thought to be one of the most important shapers of the black literary and cultural movement of the twenties and thirties. She recieved a lot of criticism at the time of her writings, even by other writers of the time. But, she soon became the best female writer of the time period. -
Living In New York & Harlem Renaissance
Zora lived in New York during different times in her career beginning in 1925, and began to have a promenant image in the Harlem Renaissance. -
Married Herbert Sheen
In 1927, she married Herbert Sheen- this marriage lasted 4 years. -
College Graduation
Attended Howard University receiving her B.A. in anthropology from Barnard College, Columbia University in 1928. -
Period: to
Zora's Presence
"From the 1930s through the 1960s, Zora Neale Hurston was the most prolific and accomplished black woman writer in America. During that thirty-year period she published seven books, many short stories, magazine articles, and plays, and she gained a reputation as an outstanding folklorist and novelist" (Gale Learning). -
First Novel- Jonah's Gourd Vine
Zora spent many years doing anthropologyl research which she accomplished by recieving money from fellowships and grants. After this research, Zora Neale Hurston's first novel Jonah's Gourd Vine was published in 1934 with great success. -
2nd novel- Mules and Men
In 1935, Zora pulished her second novel- Mules and Men. This book investigated voodoo practices mainly in black communities of Florida and New Orleans. This book recieved great praise from many. -
Publication of Their Eyes Were Watching God
Hurston's greatest novel is thought to be Their Eyes Were Watching God, and 1937 brought the publication of this fantastic novel. This novel was written after she had an affair with a younger man, and it only took her seven weeks to complete it. -
2nd marriage
In 1939, she married Albert Prince; however, after only 7 months this marriage failed as well. -
The Charges
In 1948, Hurston was arrested and charged with "committing an immoral act with a ten-year-old boy." She later proved that she was not even in the country at the time, but she was upset about the negative publicity. -
Zora's Passing
On January 28, 1960 Zora passed away at the age of 68 in Fort Pierce, Florida
