African American folklorist, anthropologist, and writer, Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960), is well-represented in the Library of Congress' collections. This guide highlights unique unpublished materials, as well as selected published resources.
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Author:
Stephanie Hall, Collections Specialist, American Folklife Center
Created: April 6,2021
Last Updated: October 13, 2021
Introduction
This guide provides information on finding materials related to anthropologist, folklorist, and author Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) in Library of Congress collections, with an emphasis on unpublished materials. A selected bibliography of books by Hurston is included on the "searching the collections" page. Unpublished materials related to Hurston are primarily found in the collections of the American Folklife Center, the Prints and Photographs Division, the Manuscripts Division, the Motion Picture and Television Reading Room, and the Recorded Sound Reference Center. Some of these collections are available online, and this guide will provide links to the digitized material with guidance for searching for collections not available online.
While this guide was created by the American Folklife Center, where the audio recordings made by Hurston and of Hurston may be found, the other collections and items in this guide are housed in several divisions of the Library of Congress. It is recommended that researchers use the Library's Ask a Librarian service to get assistance with particular items housed in other Library divisions--take note of the division when viewing materials and direct questions to librarians in that division using in to expedite answers to their requests.