A Feminist Press classic, reissued forty years later. The original commentary by Alice Walker and Mary Helen Washington, two Black American woman writers at the forefront of the Hurston revival, provide illuminating insights into Zora—the writer, and the person—as well as into American history.

During her lifetime, Zora Neale Hurston was praised for her writing but condemned for her independence and audacity. Her work fell into obscurity until the 1970s, when Alice Walker rediscovered Hurston’s unmarked grave and anthologized her writing, establishing her as an intellectual leader for future generations of Black writers. A testament to the power and breadth of Hurston’s body of work, this collection of excerpts from 14 texts including Their Eyes Were Watching God, Mules and Men, and Dust Tracks on the Road, with an introduction by Mary Helen Washington, this new edition remains as vital as ever.