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Zora Neale Hurston (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)

Biography

Zora Neale Hurston was born on January 7, 1891, though she was later to list her birth date as 1901, taking a full decade out of her life. She was born in Eatonville, Florida, the first black incorporated town in the United States. Her father, John Hurston, a local minister, also served three terms as mayor of the town and wrote its laws. Her mother, Lucy Ann Potts Hurston, did the most to encourage young Zora's spirit and learning.

It was when Hurston entered high school in 1917, after having spent some time traveling with a Gilbert and Sullivan troupe, that...

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