“Their Eyes Were Watching God” by, Zora Neale Hurston

Join us for a discussion of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston

Originally published in 1937, Their Eyes Were Watching God is an American classic. This luminous and haunting novel about Janie Crawford, a southern black women in the 1930’s who journeys from a free-spirited girl to a woman of independence and substance has inspired writers and readers for close to ninety years.

When, at sixteen, Janie is caught kissing shiftless Johnny Taylor, her grandmother swiftly marries her off to an old man with sixty acres. Janie endures two stifling marriages before she finally meets the man of her dreams- who offers not diamonds, but a packet of flower seeds.

This poetic, graceful love story- rooted in black folk traditions and steeped in mythic realism- celebrates, boldly and brilliantly, African American culture and heritage. And in a powerful, mesmerizing narrative, it pays quite tribute to a woman, who, through constricted by the times, still demands to be heard.