Hurston’s 1st book hitting shelves soon
Eatonville author Zora Neale Hurston, who died in obscurity in 1960, is back in the literary spotlight.
Her first book, “Barracoon,” will finally be published Tuesday.
She completed the work in 1931, but could never interest publishers in the true saga. The book tells of Cudjo Lewis, thought to be the last living person enslaved in Africa and transported to the United States by slave ship.
In “Barracoon,” Hurston shared the story in his dialect, which frightened off publishers decades ago.
Hurston is best known for “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” her 1937 novel, which has gained classic status and is widely taught in schools. “Their Eyes” is among 100 candidates in the running in PBS’ “The Great American Read,” a contest to find the country’s fa-
vorite book.
“Her work was revolutionary in many ways,” said Julian Chambliss, a history professor at Rollins College. “She was an anthropologist who delved into the black culture and experience and brought it to the fore. She strove to capture an authentic black voice and to show that black people were just as intellectually capable as white people. She held onto dialect as an indication of black culture and a link to a unique black American experience.” He added that her work “continues to be a treasure trove for scholars.”
“Barracoon” carries the subtitle “The Story of the Last ‘Black Cargo.’ ” Lewis arrived in Alabama in 1859. After five years as a slave, he was freed by Union soldiers in the Civil War.
He told of his time in the “barracoon,” where the enslaved were kept before being put on ships. He talked about his travel on the slave ship Clothilda and his role in helping former slaves found Africatown, an Alabama community.
“Barracoon” is being published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins. Former Orlando Sentinel book critic Nancy Pate read an advance copy from the publisher.
“It was interesting to read something else that Zora had written — she’s a very visual writer,” Pate said. “It’s valuable as a historical document. I had heard of the Clothilda and Africatown, but ‘Barracoon’ has the details, plus Cudjo’s stories about the 19 years he was growing up in Africa and his family history.”
Hurston later wrote about Lewis in her autobiography, “Dust Tracks on a Road.” But “Barracoon” lets the reader hear Lewis at length.
Anna Lillios, a professor of English at University of Central Florida, said she is excited that the book is edited by Deborah Plant, a leading Hurston scholar and professor at University of South Florida.
Lillios is waiting for her copy of “Barracoon” but shared a portion of her writing about “Dust Tracks on a Road” that will appear in next year’s UCF Common Reader. She writes: “Hurston listened to Lewis’s stories about the kings of Dahomey who captured their enemies and sold them in the slave trade. She is most struck by the realization: ‘my people had sold me and the white people had bought me. That did away with the folklore I had been brought up on.’ ”
“Barracoon” carries a foreword by “Color Purple” author Alice Walker, who helped bring Hurston to new generations of readers. Walker also marked Hurston’s Fort Pierce grave with a stone that reads “A Genius of the South.”