Tuesday, April 30, 2019

A to Z: Letters to Dead Writers Zora Neale Hurtson


This month I'm writing one post for each letter of the alphabet, all on the theme of "Letters to Dead Writers." You can see my theme reveal post here and learn more about the blogging challenge here.

Today's writer is Zora Neale Hurston
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Dear Ms. Hurston,

I wish I could have met you. All accounts paint you as a vibrant and fascinating woman, so charismatic as to charm the pants off a snake.

And your words! They sung on the page, so full of life and wonder and determination. Their Eyes Were Watching God has taken a rightful place as your masterwork. 

Janie is an unforgettable character and her story inspiring and heartbreaking all at the same time. Rather like your own.

In reading about your life, I've learned that you never saw much in the way of financial gain from your work, that, when you died, a collection had to be taken up to bury you.

Your work, too, might have been lost to time if not for the interest of another writer, Alice Walker. What a loss that would have been!

Luckily for me, and generations of readers, Ms. Walker's interest started a revival of interest in your work and now we can all read your words.


I hope you're a star in heaven now, like you deserved to be on earth.

Love,
-Samantha

1 comment:

  1. What an incredible, tragic story. Thank goodness Alice Walker rediscovered her so the rest of us could as well.

    This was a fantastic idea for an A to Z, Samantha. I've loved every post I read, and I wish I could read them all.

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