Zora Neale Hurston: A Storyteller's Life

Though Hurston died in obscurity in 1960, she has been rediscovered through the recognition of current African American writers and the recent New York City production of Mule Bone , the play she wrote with Langston Hughes. This considered and informative biography draws strongly on Hurston's own writings, notably Mules and Men and Dust Tracks on the Road . The voice of this woman--extraordinary in many respects-- rings clear and true here as Yates traces Hurston's life from her birth in 1901 in Eatonville, Fla., to her unique work as a folklorist, novelist, dramatist and part of the Harlem Renaissance. Her personal and professional struggles and conflicts are made accessible and meaningful to youngsters. Illustrated with bold, arresting linoleum prints, this is an excellent introduction to the woman and her work, and a fine prequel to Mary Lyons's Sorrow's Kitchen. Ages 10-15. (Aug.)