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A review by readsewknit
You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays by Zora Neale Hurston, Genevieve West, Henry Louis Gates Jr.
4.0
This new publication gathers together essays by Zora Neale Hurston, now annotated with footnotes on relevant events and people, information that may be lost to distance and years but would have been familiar to readers at the time of publication.
Hurston's range is apparent, and her humor and wit are on display. There's a scathing, condescending review of a short story volume of Richard Wright's (readers are informed in a footnote that he had widely panned Their Eyes Were Watching God). We read an insightful essay comparing the (poor) substitute of margarine to butter and likening it to poor caricatures of Blacks in the arts.
The changing times are on display in "The Lost Keys is Glory." It starts with a parable of how men and women were created fully equal in every way, then concessions were made to enhance men's strength and then, later, to grant women the keys (to cradle, kitchen, bedroom), and through this tension they found ways to live together and use their strengths to gain what they desired from the other. But the essay morphs into an analysis of men's superiority and how wives must tread lightly when considering employment outside of the home, how such decisions could give them a misguided focus on priorities and lead their husbands to lose interest in them (a curious piece to analyze, given Hurston married -- and divorced -- three husbands).
In "I Saw Negro Votes Peddled," Hurston holds her peers to account, calling them out for selling votes and ignoring the possible impact they could have. She minces no words when she's challenging others to do better.
There are so many more topics, but the final section is a series of articles she wrote that illuminated a murder trial where a rich black women was charged with killing her white lover. Through courtroom accounts and interviews, Hurston pieces together particulars of the story.
As one who had limited exposure to Hurston's work previously, having only read her memoir, I enjoyed diving into this expansive collection, as Hurston demonstrates her skill as a journalist and an anthropologist.
(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)
Hurston's range is apparent, and her humor and wit are on display. There's a scathing, condescending review of a short story volume of Richard Wright's (readers are informed in a footnote that he had widely panned Their Eyes Were Watching God). We read an insightful essay comparing the (poor) substitute of margarine to butter and likening it to poor caricatures of Blacks in the arts.
The changing times are on display in "The Lost Keys is Glory." It starts with a parable of how men and women were created fully equal in every way, then concessions were made to enhance men's strength and then, later, to grant women the keys (to cradle, kitchen, bedroom), and through this tension they found ways to live together and use their strengths to gain what they desired from the other. But the essay morphs into an analysis of men's superiority and how wives must tread lightly when considering employment outside of the home, how such decisions could give them a misguided focus on priorities and lead their husbands to lose interest in them (a curious piece to analyze, given Hurston married -- and divorced -- three husbands).
In "I Saw Negro Votes Peddled," Hurston holds her peers to account, calling them out for selling votes and ignoring the possible impact they could have. She minces no words when she's challenging others to do better.
There are so many more topics, but the final section is a series of articles she wrote that illuminated a murder trial where a rich black women was charged with killing her white lover. Through courtroom accounts and interviews, Hurston pieces together particulars of the story.
As one who had limited exposure to Hurston's work previously, having only read her memoir, I enjoyed diving into this expansive collection, as Hurston demonstrates her skill as a journalist and an anthropologist.
(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)