Promotional Information

* Zora Neale Hurston's masterpiece is perhaps the most widely read and highly regarded novel in the entire canon of African American literature.

About the Author

In the Harlem Renaissance of the 1930s, Zora Neale Hurston was the preeminent black woman writer in the United States. She died in 1960 in a Welfare home, was buried in an unmarked grave, and quickly faded from literary consciousness until 1975 when Alice Walker almost single-handedly revived interest in her work. Nearly every black woman writer of significance - including Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and Alice Walker - acknowledges Zora Neale Hurston as their literary foremother.

Reviews

Nearly 60 years after its publication during the Harlem Renaissance and about 20 years since Alice Walker reclaimed it, Hurston's lost classic comes alive in this audio production. In depicting one of the first strong black women of 20th-century literature, Hurston's story of Janie Crawford pulls the listener into a timeless world of love, struggle, and self-exploration. Janie's quest for both love and fulfillment may be more powerful for modern audiences than its original readership; indeed, the novel was widely denounced by Hurston's male contemporaries and critics. Reader Michele-Denise Woods capably narrates the story. The novel has served as inspiration for a host of current writers, including Walker and Gloria Naylor. Highly recommended.-Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo, N.Y.

'There is no book more important to me than this one. It speaks to me as no novel, past or present, has ever done' Alice Walker 'One of the greatest writers of our time' Toni Morrison 'Zora Neale Hurston was a knockout in her life, a wonderful writer and a fabulous person. Devilishly funny and academically solid: delicious mixture' Maya Angelou 'For me, THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD is one of the very greatest American novels of the 20th century. It is so lyrical it should be sentimental; it is so passionate it should be overwrought, but it is instead a rigorous, convincing and dazzling piece of prose, as emotionally satisfying as it is impressive. There is no novel I love more' Zadie Smith