Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright -- ep. by Howard Rambsy II

Why these two writers are integral to the development of African American literary studies
Written by Howard Rambsy II
Read by Kassandra Timm

Transcript

In 1988, scholar Keneth Kinnamon published A Richard Wright Bibliography: Fifty Years of Criticism and Commentary, 1933-1982.The book contained 13,117 entries related to news, reviews, scholarly articles, books, edited collections, and dissertations about the famed author of Native Son. 

 The scholarly focus on Wright and Zora Neale Hurston during the late 1980s through the 1990s contributed to the formation and advancement of African American literary studies as a field. 

 You’re listening to Remarkable Receptions—a podcast about popular and critical responses to African American novels, literary history, and more.

 Hurston and Wright are often presented as rivals. They wrote negative reviews of each other’s works, and the two are often invoked by scholars in discussions about unequal treatment between Black men and Black women artists. 

 But people less frequently mention that the abundant examinations of works by both writers were integral to the formation of African American literary studies. Many, if not most, leading scholars in the field read, analyzed, and wrote about Wright and Hurston to some degree in their works. Native Son and Their Eyes Were Watching God stand as iconic touchstones in the critical discourse and history of African American literary studies. 

 Scholars writing about Hurston invariably mentioned Wright, and those writing about Wright often mentioned Hurston. In coverage of southern-born novelists, Wright and Hurston were among the most frequently cited authors, and they are included on just about any short-list of canonical Black writers.   

 During the late 1980s through the 1990s, scholars seeking to affirm the importance of Black literature understandably felt the need to establish and then draw on the works of historically significant authors. They wanted to identify novelists whose works, when analyzed, could showcase the richness, complexity, and interconnectedness of Black literature and culture. Accordingly, when scholars were advancing African American literary studies, they often turned to Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright.   

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This episode was written by Howard Rambsy. The episode was edited by Elizabeth Cali.

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Remarkable Receptions is part of the Black Literature Network, a joint project from African American literary studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the History of Black Writing at the University of Kansas. The project was made possible by the generous support of the Mellon Foundation.  For more information, visit blacklitnetwork.org.