Zora Neale Hurston, American Writer

"Ships at a distance/
Have every man's wish on board"/
So wrote our Zora.

Photo by Carl Van Vechten, 1940

Today, Saturday, January 28, marks the anniversary of the death of Zora Neale Hurston (b. 1891 - d. 1960). I came across this rare color photo of her while surfing the Internet, only to discover that the Beineke Library at Yale had digitized all of Carl Van Vechten's nearly 2,000 color photos of African American authors, dancers, singers, intellectuals, and others involved in the arts and culture of America, mainly during the first half of the 20th century. Here is a link to the collection:  

Living Portraits: Carl Van Vechten's Color Photographs of 

African Americans, 1939-1964

Today is a good day to read Hurston's masterwork, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and to reflect upon her brilliant writing.

Original dust jacket, 1937

All best,

Rebecca

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