Zora Neale Hurston will be honored in a different ‘ville today.
Two UF organizations, George A. Smathers Library and the Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research, will celebrate the 75th anniversary of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” from 11:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. at George A. Smathers Library.
Attendees will be able to view materials of the Hurston collection, watch a film in Smathers Room 1A and have a roundtable discussion in the Ustler Hall Atrium.
According to the online “Guide to the Zora Neale Hurston Papers” on the UF libraries website, the collection is comprised of correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, manuscripts and miscellaneous personal papers of Hurston.
The majority of the materials were donated to the university in 1961 following her death.
Professor of anthropology and African-American studies Faye Harrison said it is important to recognize the role of authors as promoters of intellectualism. The event is being held to stimulate public conversation about Hurston’s contributions to society.
“It is amazing that something written well before we were born still has that robust life, and I think it’s the responsibility of people in the university to ensure that is the case,” she said.
Harrison will introduce “Jump at the Sun,” a film produced by Kristy Andersen that highlights Hurston as a writer, anthropologist and intellectual.
Although the author had ties through her education and research to Washington, D.C., New Orleans and Haiti, Harrison said the author’s “organic” relationship with the state of Florida grounds her work in local folklore.
Judy Page, director of the center and event co-organizer, said she hopes the event will reawaken interest in “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” The story follows the main character, Janie, in her self-making journey.
Biology freshman Ludine Augustin, 19, said she remembers Janie to be an inspirational character.
“Each man in the book made Janie into someone she wasn’t,” she said. “But she met Teacake, who helped her become who she was and helped her form her self-identity.”
The event is one in an ongoing series called “Legacies,” which celebrates staple anniversaries of monumental feminist works, said Florence Babb, Vada Allen Yeomans professor of women’s studies at UF.
“[Hurston] lived an independent life,” she said. “She really insisted on having her voice be heard, and she had a very clear and resonant voice.”
