Zora Neale Hurston, 1891-1960

Zora Neale Hurston was an African-American novelist whose rich literary work has inspired generations of readers. Despite her reputation as a writer, there exists another side to Hurston's career. In 1938 and 1939, during the Great Depression, Hurston worked as a folklorist and contributor to the Florida division of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP), part of the Works Progress Administration. Through her work with the FWP, Hurston captured stories, songs, traditions and histories from African-Americans in small communities across Florida, whose stories often failed to make it into the histories of that time period.