Book description
From critically acclaimed journalist Valerie Boyd comes an eloquent profile of one of the most intriguing cultural figures of the twentieth century—Zora Neale Hurston.
A woman of enormous talent and remarkable drive, Zora Neale Hurston published seven books, many short stories, and several articles and plays over a career that…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Wrapped in Rainbows as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I first learned about Hurston in the 1990s, when I researched a 1952 murder case she covered for the Pittsburgh Courier, one of America’s leading Black newspapers in the mid-20th century. Since, I’ve read a couple of her seven books, including the poetic “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” and essays, including the thought-provoking “Court Order Can’t Make Races Mix.”
In 2024, I finally read her biography. I wished I had done it years ago. It put so much of her writings in sharp perspective. Hurston was a trailblazer whose words still resonate nearly a century later.
No wonder many of…
On top of having written one of the most profound novels of the 20th century, Zora Neale Hurston was a fierce and fearless proponent of authenticity in literature and art – and she paid the price for that.
Boyd’s biography of her is the best, delving into this complex woman who was both deeply of her time and way ahead of it. Boyd quotes Hurston in one of my all-time favorite lines by a writer responding to a demeaning critic: “I will send my toe-nails to debate him…” An inspiration for all creative people facing rejection for being true…
From Katherine's list on maverick creativity.
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German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
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