Zora Neale Hurston

This research guide has been created in celebration of Barnard's Zora Neale Hurston Centennial, celebrating 100 years of African-American students at Barnard College. Here, you will find information related to Hurston's life, works, peers, and influences across a range of disciplines. This research guide will also document notable Barnard Library initiatives related to the ZNH Centennial.

Zora Neale Hurston (born January 7, 1891, Notasulga, Alabama—died January 28, 1960, Fort Pierce, Florida) was an American writer, anthropologist, filmmaker, and folklorist associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Her works largely focused on portrayals of Southern Black life and culture in the late 19th and early 20th century. As an anthropologist, she spent much time exploring the African Diaspora, traveling to Latin America and the Caribbean to conduct extensive research on Black folklore, spirituality, and cultural traditions in the regions.

Hurston's 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, would become her most well-known work, and is considered a canonical text of the Harlem Renaissance. 

Digital Resources

• Zora Neale Hurston Digital Archive - From the University of Florida, this digital archive serves as a repository of biographical, historical, critical, and other contextual materials related to Hurston's life and work, with various teaching resources for both teachers and students.
• Zora Neale Hurston and the WPA in Florida - From 1938-1939, Hurston worked as a folklorist and contributor to the Florida division of the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP), part of the Works Progress Administration. The materials on this page are a compilation of documents, photographs, and audiovisual recordings relating to Zora's work during this period of time
• Library of Congress - The Library of Congress houses several primary source collection materials related to Zora and her work, including photographs, oral history interviews, manuscripts, etc.   
  • LOC Collection - Zora Neale Hurston Plays at the Library of Congress - This digital collection houses ten plays written by Hurston 
• Digital Public Library of America - The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is a large-scale public digital library, whose ZNH holdings include correspondences between Hurston and her peers, photographs of the author, and teaching materials related to her work
• S&F Online Recommended Reading - The Scholar & Feminist Online Digital Journal published an extensive bibliography of scholarly work and literary criticism on Hurston's various works. 

• Zora Neale Hurston Papers - University of Florida - collection by the University of Florida consisting of manuscripts, documents and photos saved from a burn barrel by a friend after Hurston's death.