Podcasts about dust tracks

On January 28, 1960, Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most celebrated writers of the Harlem Renaissance, passed away at the age of 69. Known for her vivid storytelling and groundbreaking exploration of Black life and culture, Hurston's most popular works include “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” “Mules and Men,” and “Dust Tracks on a Road.” Her writing captured the complexities of race, gender, and identity in ways that continue to resonate today. Despite facing obscurity and financial struggles later in life, Hurston's legacy has endured, with her work now regarded as essential in American literature. Her words and vision remain a beacon, celebrating the richness and resilience of Black life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part 2 of our deep dive into Zora Neale Hurston's life, we finally talk about zombies! Plus her success as a novelist, that time she was arrested on horrifying criminal charges, and her later career.   Source material: Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston, by Valerie Boyd; Dust Tracks on a Road: A Memoir, by Zora Neale Hurston.   Thank you to Jake Bassen for our theme song: https://soundcloud.com/jakebassen As well as Cam Clawson, for our Correspondence Remix: https://soundcloud.com/camclawson7 Follow us on Instagram: @lewisandlovecraft @twclawson_pdx @thehannahray Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LewisandLovecraft/ Website: https://lewislovecraft.weebly.com/ Email: lewisandlovecraft@gmail.com

Gather round, children, for the story of one of the coolest ladies in literary history.   Zora Neale Hurston was born with a thirst for adventure and the confidence to conquer the world, even though at the start of the 1900s, to be both black and a woman seemed a formidable barrier to overcome.   But it didn't take long for her to make her mark on the world as both a writer during the Harlem Renaissance (her most popular novel is Their Eyes Were Watching God), and an anthropologist, studying hoodoo and conjure all over the southern United States and the West Indies.   In fact, her life is so full of drama and adventure that this episode quickly turned into a two parter, so enjoy part one where Hannah and Tyler talk about Hurston's early years (including a parent who might go down in BL&L infamy), her entrance on the writing scene, and initial anthropology expeditions. Source material: Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston, by Valerie Boyd; Dust Tracks on a Road: A Memoir, by Zora Neale Hurston.   Thank you to Jake Bassen for our theme song: https://soundcloud.com/jakebassen As well as Cam Clawson, for our Correspondence Remix: https://soundcloud.com/camclawson7 Follow us on Instagram: @lewisandlovecraft @twclawson_pdx @thehannahray Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LewisandLovecraft/ Website: https://lewislovecraft.weebly.com/ Email: lewisandlovecraft@gmail.com

Today I interviewed my sister, Samantha, who has been writing short-form pieces for the majority of her life. We talk about her writing awards, favorite authors, play that she produced a few years ago, and more! Samantha's Favorites Watch the "DMV" reading Stuart Gibbs Sally Rooney's Normal People Zora Neale Hurston's Dust Tracks on a Road Podcast Social Media Instagram: https://instagram.com/ponderingpolymath Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Pondering-Polymath-Podcast-106433001962061/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Subscribe to Quotomania on Simplecast or search for Quotomania on your favorite podcast app!Zora Neale Hurston was a novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist. An author of four novels (Jonah's Gourd Vine, 1934; Their Eyes Were Watching God, 1937; Moses, Man of the Mountain, 1939; and Seraph on the Suwanee, 1948); two books of folklore (Mules and Men, 1935, and Tell My Horse, 1938); an autobiography (Dust Tracks on a Road, 1942); and over fifty short stories, essays, and plays. She attended Howard University, Barnard College and Columbia University, and was a graduate of Barnard College in 1927. She was born on January 7, 1891, in Notasulga, Alabama, and grew up in Eatonville, Florida. She died in Fort Pierce, in 1960.  In 1973, Alice Walker had a headstone placed at her gravesite with this epitaph: “Zora Neale Hurston: A Genius of the South.”From https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/zora-neale-hurston. For more information about Zora Neale Hurston:Previously on The Quarantine Tapes:“Zora Neale Hurston, American Contrarian”: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1997/02/17/a-society-of-one“Alice Walker Shines Light on Zora Neale Hurston”: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/alice-walker-film-excerpt-walker-puts-zora-neale-hurston-back-in-spotlight/2869/“Where to Start with Zora Neale Hurston”: https://www.nypl.org/blog/2019/09/16/where-start-zora-neale-hurston

This week's guest is Dr. CE Payne Hull. Payne by birth, Hull by choice, Dr. Payne Hull is an educator, wife, mother, author, mentor and survivor of Stevens Johnson syndrome, amongst many other things. A woman of precise vision, Dr. Payne Hull shares her intimate journey with us from a preacher's daughter to head of school. Facebook: CE Payne Hull, Maat Adorned 2016, Queendom 101 Twitter: @101queendom; @maatadorned Instagram: @queendom_101org; @maatadorned Website: www.queendom101.org; www.maatadorned.com - The Holy Bible - the ISIS Papers by: Frances Cress Welsing - Nigger by Dick Gregory - Caste by: Isabel Wilkerson - Blink by: Malcolm Gladwell - Just as I Am: Cicely Tyson - Medical Apartheid by: Harriet Washington - Assata by Assata Shakur - The New Jim Crow by: Michelle Alexander - 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene - The Art of War by Sun Tzu - The Post-Racial Negro Green Book (1st edition) - Dust Tracks on the Road by Zora Neale Hurston Recommended Music: - Gospel (Acapella Groups) - Tai Chi - Smooth Jazz - Reggae - My Pandora Stations: Common, Talib Kweli, Lauryn Hill, Bob Marley Recommended Podcasts: - Holt Street Church of Christ Montgomery - The Network - Latoya Okeia (for aspiring life coaches) - The Dr. Will Show Ya Didn't Ask: "A reminder message for black women and girls- Black women are given a small room for error. As black women we must always be on top of our game and know that God controls everything, understand the art of war, the 48 laws of power, how to influence without authority, and make every effort to be our very best at everything we do every minute of every day!" --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mike493/message

Zora Neale Hurston: Gênio do Sul - Escritora, folclorista, cineasta e antropóloga - 1901-1960 Quantas antropólogas negras você já leu? No episódio de hoje batemos um papo com a Carol Costa, o Lucas Coelho e a Rosana Castro sobre a história de Zora Hurston, seu legado e a sua importância em nossas trajetórias. Falamos também sobre o surgimento do Coletivo Zora Hurston de estudantes negras do PPGAS/UnB e sobre a importância da palavra para nós. Ta lindo demais, gente! Referências citadas no episódio: HURSTON, Zora Neale. Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo”. Amistad, 2018. HURSTON, Zora Neale. Dust Tracks on a Road. An autobiography. E-book Al-Haines, Cindy Beyer & the online Distributers Proofreaders Canada team http://www.pgdcanada.net, 2017 [1942] HURSTON, Zora Neale. Seus Olhos Viam Deus. Rio de Janeiro: Record, 2002. Zora Neale Hurston: Heart with Room for Every Joy - Disponível em: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k1ozpwiQIM&ab&ab_channel=thepostarchive

Today, we discuss a brief history of Hoodoo candle magick as well as some candle divination techniques.   Resources for you: Zora Neale Hurston : Folklore, Memoirs, and Other Writings : Mules and Men, Tell My Horse, Dust Tracks on a Road, Selected Articles (The Library of America, 75)   The Spirit of Black Hawk: A Mystery of Africans and Indians by University Press of Mississippi   "Spirit World" by Michael Smith   "The Spiritual Churches of New Orleans" by Claude F. Jacobs and Andrew J. Kaslow   "Black Magick" by Yvonne Chireau   ReadersandRootworkers.org/wiki/Catergory: Working Within the Spiritualist Tradition   www.magickandmedicine.blogspot.com   https://www.facebook.com/mysticqueenmother  

In her thought-provoking memoir “Dust Tracks in the Road,” Zora Neale Hurston’s vision of her future reminds me of how mysterious the world is. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of Gretchen’s new book OUTER ORDER, INNER CALM here: http://outerorderinnercalmbook.com Leave a voicemail message on: 774-277-9336 For information about advertisers and promo codes, go to happiercast.com/sponsors. Happier with Gretchen Rubin is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts—Do The Thing, Side Hustle School, Happier in Hollywood and Everything Happens with Kate Bowler. If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and tell your friends! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week our guest is memoirist Melissa Valentine, author of The Names of All the Flowers, which explores growing up mixed race in Oakland, being part of a family fractured by the school to prison pipeline, and losing her brother. In this episode, we discuss her writing process, and:Doing the writing first before anything elseWriting as a self-help toolAnd moreIf you’re a new listener to Fierce Womxn Writing, I would love to hear from you. Please visit my Contact Page and tell me about your writing challenges.Follow this WriterVisit Melissa’s Website, Instagram, and TwitterOrder her book, The Names of All the FlowersFollow the PodcastVisit the podcast’s WebsiteFollow the HostSlide into Sara Gallagher’s DM’s on InstagramFollow our PartnersLearn more about The Feminist Press, which lifts up insurgent and marginalized voices from around the world to build a more just futureBecome an AdvertiserUse my Contact Page or hit me up on InstaThis Week’s Writing PromptEach week the featured author offers a writing prompt for you to use at home. I suggest setting a timer for 6 or 8 minutes, putting the writing prompt at the top of your page, and free writing whatever comes to mind. Remember, the important part is keeping your pen moving. You can always edit later. Right now we just want to write something new and see what happens.This week’s writing prompt is: Read two pages of any piece of literature and let it inspire you to write.Explore Womxn AuthorsIn this episode, the author recommended these womxn writers:Zora Neale Hurston, author of Dust Tracks on a RoadDorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of CarolinaRobin Coste Lewis, author of Voyage of the Sable VenusClarice Lispector, author of The Passion According to G.H.Ensure the Podcast ContinuesLove what you’re hearing? Show your appreciation and become a Supporter with a monthly contribution.Check Out Black Womxn AuthorsEpisode 28: Liara Tamani - Author of All The Things We Never KnewEpisode 27: Aja Black - Songwriter of musical duo The RemindersEpisdoe 15: Brittney Morris - Author of SlaySupport the show (https://fiercewomxnwriting.com/support)

Today, Kaytee and Mindy are discussing: Bookish Moments: reading around the house, inside and outside, and a bookish article that brings vindication for a strong opinion Current Reads: books that give us the chance to think a new way Deep Dive: when book characters are real to you: crushes, friends, enemies, and family Book Presses: fiction novels that spark conversation and/or break your heart As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you’d like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don’t scroll down!  *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*   . . . . . Bookish Moments: 1:34 - Lord of the Flies article 1:49 - Season 2, Episode 31 2:45 - Zero Gravity Chairs (this is the “budget” version I got. There’s also a more expensive version, and I’m sure they’re better, but I’m not sure if they are twice as good…) Current Reads: 3:34 - Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston (Mindy) 6:47 - The Cider House Rules by John Irving (Kaytee) 9:14 - Night Theater by Vikram Paralkar 9:18 - The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi (Mindy) 12:36 - Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim (Kaytee) 15:17 - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 15:22 - The Girl in Red, Lost Boy, Alice by Christina Henry 15:56 - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Mindy) 19:04 - Recursion by Blake Crouch (Kaytee) 19:07 - Season 1, Episode 45 19:22 - Dark Matter by Blake Crouch Deep Dive - When Book Characters are Real: Enemies, Family Members, Friends, and Crushes: 23:35 - Delores Umbridge from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling 23:40 - Jonathan Randall from Outlander by Diana Gabladon 24:47 - Brad from A Good Neighborhood by Therese Ann Fowler 25:07 - Old Nick from Room by Emma Donoghue 25:46 - Bella Swan from Twilight by Stephanie Meyer 26:28 - Jupiter North from Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend 27:25 - Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee 27:42 - Kira from Beartown and Us Against You by Fredrik Backman 29:00 - Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 29:22 - Nymphadora Tonks from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling 30:26 - Edith from The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal 30:57 - Diana from The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal 32:20 - Jamie from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 32:44 - John Guy from Still Life by Louise Penny 34:01 - Rhysand from A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Books We Want to Press Into Your Hands: 35:46 - Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen (Mindy) 36:09 - Season 2, Episode 21 37:16 - Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin (Kaytee) Connect With Us: Meredith is @meredith.reads on Instagram Kaytee is @notesonbookmarks on Instagram Mindy is @gratefulforgrace on Instagram currentlyreadingpodcast.com @currentlyreadingpodcast on Instagram currentlyreadingpodcast@gmail.com

"It was not death she feared. It was misunderstanding.” This line from Zora Neale Hurston’s masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God, captures what is at the heart of all great literature: the irrepressible urge to speak, to be heard and understood. I spoke with Professor Deborah Plant, a scholar of African-American literature and culture, an expert on Hurston, and the editor of Hurston’s posthumously published Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo". When I asked Deborah about this sentence, how Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God could fear misunderstanding more than death, she gently corrected me. Janie no longer feared death even before this pivotal scene, Deborah explained. Deborah also corrected me, again gently but firmly, when I misspoke and suggested that Hurston had been largely forgotten between 1937, when Their Eyes Were Watching God was first published and she was still a celebrated figure of the Harlem Renaissance, and the book’s renewed popularity starting in the mid-1970s. "Their Eyes Were Watching God was never really forgotten in my community," Deborah explained. Hurston's work re-shuffles the tradition of American literature so productively that public success may be the wrong measure. Professor Plant also explained how Hurston’s training as an anthropologist with Franz Boas at Barnard College shaped her writing. She helped us see African-American language and culture as the greatest cultural treasure of our nation. Professor Plant explained how best to understand this magisterial book in light of Hurston’s other work. “I had things clawing inside of me that must be said,” Hurston added in her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, to explain her decision to leave a man she truly loved. But it’s not specific facts and experiences that need to be heard; it is the human voice. This, of course, is what great literature is: the need for one's voice and vision to be accepted on their terms. Uli Baer is a professor at New York University. He is also the host of the excellent podcast "Think About It" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"It was not death she feared. It was misunderstanding.” This line from Zora Neale Hurston’s masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God, captures what is at the heart of all great literature: the irrepressible urge to speak, to be heard and understood. I spoke with Professor Deborah Plant, a scholar of African-American literature and culture, an expert on Hurston, and the editor of Hurston’s posthumously published Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo". When I asked Deborah about this sentence, how Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God could fear misunderstanding more than death, she gently corrected me. Janie no longer feared death even before this pivotal scene, Deborah explained. Deborah also corrected me, again gently but firmly, when I misspoke and suggested that Hurston had been largely forgotten between 1937, when Their Eyes Were Watching God was first published and she was still a celebrated figure of the Harlem Renaissance, and the book’s renewed popularity starting in the mid-1970s. "Their Eyes Were Watching God was never really forgotten in my community," Deborah explained. Hurston's work re-shuffles the tradition of American literature so productively that public success may be the wrong measure. Professor Plant also explained how Hurston’s training as an anthropologist with Franz Boas at Barnard College shaped her writing. She helped us see African-American language and culture as the greatest cultural treasure of our nation. Professor Plant explained how best to understand this magisterial book in light of Hurston’s other work. “I had things clawing inside of me that must be said,” Hurston added in her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, to explain her decision to leave a man she truly loved. But it’s not specific facts and experiences that need to be heard; it is the human voice. This, of course, is what great literature is: the need for one's voice and vision to be accepted on their terms. Uli Baer is a professor at New York University. He is also the host of the excellent podcast "Think About It" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"It was not death she feared. It was misunderstanding.” This line from Zora Neale Hurston's masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God, captures what is at the heart of all great literature: the irrepressible urge to speak, to be heard and understood. I spoke with Professor Deborah Plant, a scholar of African-American literature and culture, an expert on Hurston, and the editor of Hurston's posthumously published Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo". When I asked Deborah about this sentence, how Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God could fear misunderstanding more than death, she gently corrected me. Janie no longer feared death even before this pivotal scene, Deborah explained. Deborah also corrected me, again gently but firmly, when I misspoke and suggested that Hurston had been largely forgotten between 1937, when Their Eyes Were Watching God was first published and she was still a celebrated figure of the Harlem Renaissance, and the book's renewed popularity starting in the mid-1970s. "Their Eyes Were Watching God was never really forgotten in my community," Deborah explained. Hurston's work re-shuffles the tradition of American literature so productively that public success may be the wrong measure. Professor Plant also explained how Hurston's training as an anthropologist with Franz Boas at Barnard College shaped her writing. She helped us see African-American language and culture as the greatest cultural treasure of our nation. Professor Plant explained how best to understand this magisterial book in light of Hurston's other work. “I had things clawing inside of me that must be said,” Hurston added in her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, to explain her decision to leave a man she truly loved. But it's not specific facts and experiences that need to be heard; it is the human voice. This, of course, is what great literature is: the need for one's voice and vision to be accepted on their terms. Uli Baer is a professor at New York University. He is also the host of the excellent podcast "Think About It" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

"It was not death she feared. It was misunderstanding.” This line from Zora Neale Hurston’s masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God, captures what is at the heart of all great literature: the irrepressible urge to speak, to be heard and understood. I spoke with Professor Deborah Plant, a scholar of African-American literature and culture, an expert on Hurston, and the editor of Hurston’s posthumously published Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo". When I asked Deborah about this sentence, how Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God could fear misunderstanding more than death, she gently corrected me. Janie no longer feared death even before this pivotal scene, Deborah explained. Deborah also corrected me, again gently but firmly, when I misspoke and suggested that Hurston had been largely forgotten between 1937, when Their Eyes Were Watching God was first published and she was still a celebrated figure of the Harlem Renaissance, and the book’s renewed popularity starting in the mid-1970s. "Their Eyes Were Watching God was never really forgotten in my community," Deborah explained. Hurston's work re-shuffles the tradition of American literature so productively that public success may be the wrong measure. Professor Plant also explained how Hurston’s training as an anthropologist with Franz Boas at Barnard College shaped her writing. She helped us see African-American language and culture as the greatest cultural treasure of our nation. Professor Plant explained how best to understand this magisterial book in light of Hurston’s other work. “I had things clawing inside of me that must be said,” Hurston added in her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, to explain her decision to leave a man she truly loved. But it’s not specific facts and experiences that need to be heard; it is the human voice. This, of course, is what great literature is: the need for one's voice and vision to be accepted on their terms. Uli Baer is a professor at New York University. He is also the host of the excellent podcast "Think About It" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Part two of my review of DUST TRACKS ON A ROAD by Zora Neale Hurston. This great memoir gets political in the second half. Listen to my thoughts on her conservatism and skepticism of racial politics.

The first part of my review of Zora Neale Hurston's memoir DUST TRACKS ON A ROAD. The first part of the book deals with her childhood, her family, the origin of her imagination and curiosity, and her struggles to earn an education.

This trailblazer became the most successful and significant black woman writer of the first half of the 20th century. In the 1970s, during the second wave of feminism, Alice Walker helped revive interest in this pioneer’s writings, bringing them back to public attention. Have you ever heard of Zora Neale Hurston? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: It was a deep honor and absolute pleasure to speak with Valerie Boyd, author of Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston, and DaMaris Hill, a professor at the University of Kentucky and author of A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing, for this episode. Sources: Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston; Boyd, Valerie; Scribner; February 3, 2004. Dust Tracks on a Road; Hurston, Zora Neale; Harpers; 1942, updated 2017. A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing: The Incarceration of African American Women from Harriet Tubman to Sandra Bland; Hill, DeMaris; Bloomsbury Publishing; January 15, 2019. Zora Neale Hurston; Official Website; Maintained by the Zora Neale Hurston Trust; Retrieved February 2019. Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography; Hemenway, Robert; University of Illinois Press, September 1, 1980.

We're back to continue our series on radical, community libraries! In this episode, we chat with Ola Ronke Akinmowo of the Free Black Women's Library, Dev Aujla of Sorted Library, and Jen Hoyer and Daniel Pecoraro from our own Interference Archive library. To learn more about the Free Black Women's Library, stay up to date about future pop ups, and find out where to donate books, visit her site, follow the library on social media @thefreeblackwomenslibrary, and consider supporting the project via Patreon. Here's a short list of reading recommendations from Ola Ronke: Audre Lorde, Gloria Naylor, Buchi Emecheta, Pat Parker, June Jordan, Nnedi Okorafor, especially Who Fears Death, Octavia Butler, especially Parable of the Sower, Zora Neale Hurston, especially Dust Tracks on the Road, This Thing Around My Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Sula by Toni Morrison, Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi, Things We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons, All About Love by bell hooks, Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires, I, Tituba: Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé, The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clementine Wamariya, Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward, Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper. To learn more about the Sorted Library, including the date of their next open house, you can follow them on Instagram @SortedLibrary or visit them at sortedlibrary.com. To learn more about the Interference Archive library, visit our website, or visit us in person. The archive (and library) is open to the public Thursdays-Sundays. A huge thank you to Ola Ronke Akinmowo, Dev Aujla, Jen Hoyer, and Daniel Pecoraro for talking with us and the important and exciting work you do! Music: “Good Times” and “Laid Back Fuzz” Podington Bear Produced by Interference Archive.

We’re back to continue our series on radical, community libraries! In this episode, we chat with Ola Ronke Akinmowo of the Free Black Women’s Library, Dev Aujla of Sorted Library, and Jen Hoyer and Daniel Pecoraro from our own Interference Archive library. To learn more about the Free Black Women’s Library, stay up to date about future pop ups, and find out where to donate books, visit her site, follow the library on social media @thefreeblackwomenslibrary, and consider supporting the project via Patreon. Here’s a short list of reading recommendations from Ola Ronke: Audre Lorde, Gloria Naylor, Buchi Emecheta, Pat Parker, June Jordan, Nnedi Okorafor, especially Who Fears Death, Octavia Butler, especially Parable of the Sower, Zora Neale Hurston, especially Dust Tracks on the Road, This Thing Around My Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Sula by Toni Morrison, Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi, Things We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons, All About Love by bell hooks, Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires, I, Tituba: Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé, The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clementine Wamariya, Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward, Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper. To learn more about the Sorted Library, including the date of their next open house, you can follow them on Instagram @SortedLibrary or visit them at sortedlibrary.com. To learn more about the Interference Archive library, visit our website, or visit us in person. The archive (and library) is open to the public Thursdays-Sundays. A huge thank you to Ola Ronke Akinmowo, Dev Aujla, Jen Hoyer, and Daniel Pecoraro for talking with us and the important and exciting work you do! Music: “Good Times” and “Laid Back Fuzz” Podington Bear Produced by Interference Archive.

"It was not death she feared. It was misunderstanding.” This line from Zora Neale Hurston’s masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God, captures what is at the heart of all great literature: the irrepressible urge to speak, to be heard and understood. I spoke with Professor Deborah Plant, a scholar of African-American literature and culture, an expert on Hurston, and the editor of Hurston’s posthumously published Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo". When I asked Deborah about this sentence, how Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God could fear misunderstanding more than death, she gently corrected me. Janie no longer feared death even before this pivotal scene, Deborah explained. Deborah also corrected me, again gently but firmly, when I misspoke and suggested that Hurston had been largely forgotten between 1937, when Their Eyes Were Watching God was first published and she was still a celebrated figure of the Harlem Renaissance, and the book’s renewed popularity starting in the mid-1970s. "Their Eyes Were Watching God was never really forgotten in my community," Deborah explained. Hurston's work re-shuffles the tradition of American literature so productively that public success may be the wrong measure. Professor Plant also explained how Hurston’s training as an anthropologist with Franz Boas at Barnard College shaped her writing. She helped us see African-American language and culture as the greatest cultural treasure of our nation. Professor Plant explained how best to understand this magisterial book in light of Hurston’s other work. “I had things clawing inside of me that must be said,” Hurston added in her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, to explain her decision to leave a man she truly loved. But it’s not specific facts and experiences that need to be heard; it is the human voice. This, of course, is what great literature is: the need for one's voice and vision to be accepted on their terms.