Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)
by Zora Neale Hurston
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Discussion at 1pm
"There are years that ask questions and years that answer"
--Zora Neale Hurston
An immersive narrative that tells of Janie Crawford's ripening from a vibrant, but voiceless, teenage girl into a woman with her finger on the trigger of her own destiny. Rural Florida in the 1920's and 30s.
Discounted copies available at Gibson's in Concord, and MainStreet BookEnds in Warner. Audio on hoopla. E-book available at Faded Page.
Discussion Questions:
- Find some at NEA's Big Read page on the book (also has background info and spoilers)
- Reading Group Guide and Discussion Questions spoilers
Resources for the book and about the author (may contain spoilers) :
- So very good documentary, I highly recommend -- American Experience's Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space "an in-depth biography of the influential author whose groundbreaking anthropological work would challenge assumptions about race, gender and cultural superiority that had long defined the field in the 19th century." I'm so happy this available to stream for free on PBS's website.
- Short biographical sketch of ZNH by one of her biographers (also in the back of the paperback editions).
- Another short bio here (with photos and timeline).
- Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928: read about it here, or watch this short video on PBS or this video piece
- Podcast about ZNH and Their Eyes..., from Writ Large
- Short, worthwhile commentary: "What I Learned About Love from Rereading “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by scholar Eve Dunbar
- You can watch an older PBS "American Masters" episode on Hurston online at Internet Archive.
Keep reading:
- Hurston's other books -- a full list here.
- Alice Walker's The Color Purple (FIC WAL), is another of my (Sarah) favorite books of all time. It seems a natural follow up to Their Eyes. Also a coming of age story about a girl under the thumb of men and poverty coming into her own. Walker was very much influenced by Hurston. This 2 min video offers just a peak at why.
- Biographies of Hurston, including her autobiography, and this group bio Gods of the Upper Air: How A Circle of Renegade Anthropologists [including Hurston] Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century. (by George King, 920 KIN)
- Jesmyn Ward's Salvage the Bones (a contemporary read-a-like; FIC WAR)
- Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye (FIC MOR)
