From "one of the greatest writers of our time" (Toni Morrison)--the
author of Barracoon and Their Eyes Were Watching God--a collection
of remarkable stories, including eight "lost" Harlem Renaissance tales
now available to a wide audience for the first time. **
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In 1925, Barnard student Zora Neale Hurston--the sole black student at
the college--was living in New York, "desperately striving for a
toe-hold on the world." During this period, she began writing short
works that captured the zeitgeist of African American life and
transformed her into one of the central figures of the Harlem
Renaissance. Nearly a century later, this singular talent is recognized
as one of the most influential and revered American artists of the
modern period.
Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick is an outstanding
collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism
and sexism that proudly reflect African American folk culture. Brought
together for the first time in one volume, they include eight of
Hurston's "lost" Harlem stories, which were found in forgotten
periodicals and archives. These stories challenge conceptions of Hurston
as an author of rural fiction and include gems that flash with her
biting, satiric humor, as well as more serious tales reflective of the
cultural currents of Hurston's world. All are timeless classics that
enrich our understanding and appreciation of this exceptional writer's
voice and her contributions to America's literary traditions.
