I Love Myself When I Am Laughing... And Then Again: A Zora Neale Hurston Reader (Paperback)

~ Zora Neale Hurston (Author), Alice Walker (Editor), Mary Helen Washington (Introduction)
Key Phrases: ole massa, hawse hide, coon dick, Missie May, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Dust Tracks (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The most prolific African-American woman author from 1920 to 1950, Hurston was praised for her writing and condemned for her independence, arrogance, and audaciousness. This unique anthology, with 14 superb examples of her fiction, journalism, folklore, and autobiography, rightfully establishes her as the intellectual and spiritual leader of the next generation of black writers. In addition to six essays and short stories, the collection includes excerpts from Dust Tracks on the Road; Mules and Me; Tell My Horse; Jonah's Gourd Vine; Moses, Man of the Mountain; and Their Eyes Were Watching God. The original commentary by Alice Walker and Mary Helen Washington, two African-American writers in the forefront of the Hurston revival, provide illuminating insights into Hurston-the writer, the person-as well as into American social and cultural history.

About the Author

Mary Helen Washington is Professor of English at the University of Maryland and editor of the anthologies MEMORY OF KIN: STORIES ABOUT FAMILY BY BLACK WRITERS and BLACK-EYED SUSANS AND MIDNIGHT BIRDS: STORIES BY AND ABOUT BLACK WOMEN.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY; 7th printing edition (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0912670665
• ISBN-13: 978-0912670669
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #526,676 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #22 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > African American > Walker, Alice
  #22 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > African American > Hurston, Zora Neale
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ignore the commentary, January 27, 2002

By A Customer

Zora Neal Hurston was an iconoclast. In her time her career suffered because she wasn't interested in writing the kind of stuff Langston Hughes and Richard Wright were churning out. The editors of this collection of excerpts of her major works are a lot like her critics. They try mightily to portray Zora as something she was not and are puzzled by Zora's statements that seem pretty straightforward to me. Read Zora's stories, folklore and especially the excerpt from her biography and skip the commentary.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic for Research Purposes, August 11, 2005

By	M. Nishikawa (Saint Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am using this text as mainly research for an honors thesis I am writing for my Undergraduate English major. Although it was extremely helpful making connections and describing Hurston the author, it was also extremely enjoyable, holding not only critical essays but exerpts as well. I'd recommend it to any Hurston fan.