Happy birthday, Zora Neale Hurston

The Google Doodle today honors the 123rd birthday of Florida writer Zora Neale Hurston, author of Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), the acclaimed story of the coming of age of a young woman in Central and South Florida in the 1920s. Hurston was born in Notasulga, Alabama. Her family moved to Eatonville, near Orlando, when she was a child. She always claimed Eatonville has her hometown. Here's a link to an article in the Orlando Sentinel today about Zora Neale Hurston. Here's a link to the Google Doodle page.

Happy birthday, Zora Neale Hurston

It is the birthday of Florida folklorist, anthropologist, and writer Zora Neale Hurston (1891), whose best known novel was Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), a story of a teenager's transition into womanhood set in central and south Florida in the early 20th century. One of the key events in the book is the Hurricane of 1928 that hit the Lake Okeechobee area. It is considered one of the best English language novels written since the 1920s. Here is an excerpt about Their Eyes Were Watching God from a documentary, Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun, by Tampa Bay area filmmaker Kristy Anderson. Enjoy.