★ 03/01/2022

What is there to say about Hurston that hasn't already been said? One of the most lauded writers of the 20th century, particularly with regard to her work during the Harlem Renaissance, Hurston defies categorization. The importance of sharing and celebrating her work should not be understated, and this collection of essays (edited by Genevieve West and Henry Louis Gates Jr.) does just that. It spans 35 years of Hurston's prolific career, allowing listeners to hear her develop as a writer, critic, and archivist of African American art and culture. The collection includes some of her last published works, written during the early years of the civil rights movement. Truly a joy to listen to, the thematically grouped essays cover a breadth of subjects: politics, African folklore, gender, race, and Black art's significance in American culture. The spectacularly talented narrator Robin Miles imbues these most important works with the gravitas and flair they deserve. VERDICT The essays and their subject matter are made all the more impactful by the truly moving experience of listening to Miles's interpretation of Hurston's words.—Anna Clark

Robin Miles narrates this audiobook with empathy and a sure sense of Hurston’s literary voice. She arranges her pace and adapts her tone in ways that give listeners access to the author’s idiosyncratic brilliance. Capturing Hurston’s intonations and invigorating her varied essays with an understanding of the author’s intentions help reveal her meanings and bring Hurston’s world vividly to life. Whether it be the title story in which she argues that African Americans have been so stereotyped in literature that their real lived experience has not been expressed or her controversial takes on segregated education or her detailed reporting of the 1952 Ruby McCollum murder trial, Miles’s narration works. Listeners hear her nuances and gain an appreciation for her as a folklorist, literary stylist, and deft journalist. A.D.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2022 Best Audiobook © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

★ 11/22/2021

More than three decades of work by novelist Hurston (1891–1960) come together in this showstopping collection. In “Spirituals and Neo-Spirituals,” she spotlights the power of spiritual songs, and notes that “in the mouth of the Negro, the English language loses its stiffness... ‘the rim bones of nothing’ is just as truthful as ‘limitless space.’ ” Her pride in the richness of Black American life is evident throughout, especially in “Race Cannot Become Great Until It Recognizes Its Talent” and the title essay, in which she reminds readers that “Two hundred and forty-six years of outward submission during slavery... intensified our inner life instead of destroying it.” In “Court Order Can’t Make Races Mix” and “Which Way the NAACP?” she reveals her misgivings regarding the Brown v Board of Education decision and its implication that all-Black schools are inferior. Whether reporting on the injustices of the criminal justice system, poking holes in the pomposity of Marcus Garvey, or drawing a character sketch of a Black Florida cattle rancher, Hurston’s work stands out for its wit and range. This will delight her fans, and should garner her some new ones. Agent: Joy Harris, The Joy Harris Literary Agency. (Jan.)

This volume enables readers both steeped in and new to Hurston to discover her acerbic wit, her crisp prose, and the breadth of her artistic ability and interests .... an invaluable nonfiction companion to the collection of Hurston's short stories.” — Booklist

“I liked this book... Reading Hurston, you always wonder what shape her dignity will take next. Her style and spark were her own.”  — New York Times

“Hurston is bold, honest, and provocative, as always, whether she’s pontificating on the ideological mirage of white feminism or insisting that school integration did less than we thought to improve Black students’ educations. The lyrical and uncompromising prose in this collection offers a window into the world of one of our greatest literary minds.”
— Vulture

"Dazzling... provocative, funny, bawdy, informative and outrageous. Gates and West have put together a comprehensive collection that lets Hurston shine as a writer, a storyteller and an American iconoclast."
— Washington Post

“You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays by Zora Neal Hurston creates a powerful and nuanced mosaic of Black culture.”
— Christian Science Monitor

"This is a carry-it-everywhere-with-you kind of book, perfect for times when you need some introspection as diversion. “You Don’t Know Us Negroes” is like that, and that’s just the way it is."
— Philadelphia Tribune

“Vigorous writings from a controversial and important cultural critic.” — Kirkus Reviews

“You Don’t Know Us Negroes” adds immeasurably to our understanding of Hurston, who was a tireless crusader in all her writing, and ahead of her time. Though she was often misunderstood, sometimes maligned and occasionally dismissed, her words make it impossible for readers to consider her anything but one of the intellectual giants of the 20th century. Despite facing sexism, racism and general ignorance, Hurston managed to produce a written legacy that, thanks to enduring collections like this one, will engage readers for generations to come.”
— New York Times Book Review

"The depth and power of Hurston’s prose continues to dazzle." — The Guardian

"With much of her work having been released and re-released posthumously, this collection recogni[z]es one of the finest writers of the 20th century." — Sunday Express (UK)

“You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays showcases the author’s breadth in a thrilling, if also uncomfortable, journey.” — The Atlantic

You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays by Zora Neal Hurston creates a powerful and nuanced mosaic of Black culture.”

Hurston is bold, honest, and provocative, as always, whether she’s pontificating on the ideological mirage of white feminism or insisting that school integration did less than we thought to improve Black students’ educations. The lyrical and uncompromising prose in this collection offers a window into the world of one of our greatest literary minds.”

This volume enables readers both steeped in and new to Hurston to discover her acerbic wit, her crisp prose, and the breadth of her artistic ability and interests .... an invaluable nonfiction companion to the collection of Hurston's short stories.

"Dazzling... provocative, funny, bawdy, informative and outrageous. Gates and West have put together a comprehensive collection that lets Hurston shine as a writer, a storyteller and an American iconoclast."

"This is a carry-it-everywhere-with-you kind of book, perfect for times when you need some introspection as diversion. “You Don’t Know Us Negroes” is like that, and that’s just the way it is."

I liked this book... Reading Hurston, you always wonder what shape her dignity will take next. Her style and spark were her own.” 

You Don’t Know Us Negroes” adds immeasurably to our understanding of Hurston, who was a tireless crusader in all her writing, and ahead of her time. Though she was often misunderstood, sometimes maligned and occasionally dismissed, her words make it impossible for readers to consider her anything but one of the intellectual giants of the 20th century. Despite facing sexism, racism and general ignorance, Hurston managed to produce a written legacy that, thanks to enduring collections like this one, will engage readers for generations to come.”

"With much of her work having been released and re-released posthumously, this collection recogni[z]es one of the finest writers of the 20th century."

"The depth and power of Hurston’s prose continues to dazzle."

"Dazzling... provocative, funny, bawdy, informative and outrageous. Gates and West have put together a comprehensive collection that lets Hurston shine as a writer, a storyteller and an American iconoclast."

This volume enables readers both steeped in and new to Hurston to discover her acerbic wit, her crisp prose, and the breadth of her artistic ability and interests .... an invaluable nonfiction companion to the collection of Hurston's short stories.

★ 03/11/2022

This incredible collection of fifty essays by Hurston (Their Eyes Were Watching God) is a treat for fans of the Harlem Renaissance author whose popularity continues to grow. Some of these collected writings have never before been previously published or are being reprinted for the first time since initial publication. Spanning four decades (1922–1958), her writings are organized by themes including race, gender, politics, and the arts. Editors Gates (Harvard) and West (Texas Woman's University) frequently employ earliest surviving manuscripts including documents written in Hurston's own hand. The editors acknowledge the contradictions sometimes found between Hurston's views and her own lived experiences. Texts include book reviews and riveting newspaper reports related to Ruby McCollum's murder trial. Hurston satirized Marcus Garvey's pomposity and provided a critical (and for many, controversial) perspective on the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Her account of the discord between administration and faculty at Howard University in the 1920s resembles disagreements found in many of today's higher education institutions. These essays demonstrate Hurston's extraordinary talent as a journalist and writer. VERDICT This excellent collection of essays will appeal to many readers especially individuals interested in African American history, literature, and culture.—Erica Swenson Danowitz

Robin Miles narrates this audiobook with empathy and a sure sense of Hurston’s literary voice. She arranges her pace and adapts her tone in ways that give listeners access to the author’s idiosyncratic brilliance. Capturing Hurston’s intonations and invigorating her varied essays with an understanding of the author’s intentions help reveal her meanings and bring Hurston’s world vividly to life. Whether it be the title story in which she argues that African Americans have been so stereotyped in literature that their real lived experience has not been expressed or her controversial takes on segregated education or her detailed reporting of the 1952 Ruby McCollum murder trial, Miles’s narration works. Listeners hear her nuances and gain an appreciation for her as a folklorist, literary stylist, and deft journalist. A.D.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2022 Best Audiobook © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

2021-11-04
A collection of Hurston’s trenchant, acerbic commentaries on Black life.

Edited, introduced, and extensively annotated by scholars Gates and West, 50 essays written over nearly four decades showcase the uncompromising views of novelist, anthropologist, folklorist, and critic Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960). Organized thematically into sections focusing on “the Folk,” race, gender, art, politics, and the scandalous trial of a Black woman accused of killing her White lover, the essays cohere to present Hurston’s “lifelong attempt to reclaim traditional Black folk culture from racist and classist degradations, to share with her readers the ‘race pride’ she felt, to build the race from within.” In the title essay, among the handful previously unpublished, Hurston excoriates Whites for assuming that they understand anything about Black experience. “Most white people have seen our shows but not our lives,” she wrote in 1958. “If they have not seen a Negro show they have seen a minstrel or at least a black-face comedian and that is considered enough.” She hurled criticism at some Blacks, as well: After Harlem Renaissance leader Alain Locke panned her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, she damned him as a fraud. In “Which Way the NAACP?” written in 1957, Hurston questioned “the interpretation of ‘advancement’ ” by the organization that pressed for school integration. “One has to be persuaded that a Negro suffers enormously by being deprived of physical contact with the Whites and be willing to pay a terrible price to gain it,” she wrote. Co-founded by W.E.B. Du Bois, the NAACP, she predicted, “will remain a self-constituted dictatorship so long as it does not ask and receive a mandate from the entire Negro population of the United States.” Writing during the Harlem Renaissance, Jim Crow, and civil rights unrest, Hurston argued for recognizing “the full richness of the African American experience” through its unique contributions to art, music, and language.

Vigorous writings from a controversial and important cultural critic.