Jump At the Sun: Zora Neale Hurston and Her Eatonville Roots

The deadline to apply has now passed.  Thank you to all who sent in applications.

Workshop Details

Description:

According to author Alice Walker, “…everything Zora Neale Hurston wrote came out of her experience of Eatonville.” Is it merely coincidental that this small historic town brought forth one of America’s most fascinating and provocative writers, a writer who provides us with a new perspective on race?

In this workshop, participants will examine Hurston’s accomplishments within the context of the historical and cultural development of the Eatonville community: visiting the few Eatonville sites preserved from Hurston’s time; hearing from an historian who will place Eatonville in the context of the American South during the periods of Reconstruction; and interacting with a panel of Eatonville residents.  Participants will examine the role Hurston played in the Harlem Renaissance and her relationships with some of the leading lights of that movement. They’ll hear a first-person portrayal of Hurston and a revue of the songs and stories she collected in the "jook joints" and turpentine camps during her work with the Florida Writers Project -- important contributions in the effort to preserve black culture.

In Ft. Pierce, participants will tour the Zora Neale Hurston Dust Tracks Heritage Trail, which includes her last home and her grave site. Participants will examine the changing racial climate of the time and how Hurston’s viewpoints on race placed her at odds with civil rights leaders of her day.

Presenters include:

Houston Baker, author and distinguished University Professor of Literature, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
Valerie Boyd, author of Wrapped in Rainbows; Charlayne Hunter-Gault Distinguished Writer In Residence, Department of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Georgia
Julian Chambliss, Associate Professor of History and Coordinator of the African-American Studies Program at Rollins College
Phyllis McEwen, Chautauqua performer, independent scholar, poet, Tampa
N.Y. Nathiri, Executive Director, The Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts

Site Visits include:

Eatonville: St. Lawrence AME Church; Thomas House; Matilda Moseley House
Maitland Art Center Exhibit: Eatonville and Maitland as Joining Communities
Fort Pierce: Dust Tracks Heritage Trail

Lodging:

Single-occupancy rooms in a residence hall are available at Rollins College. Dining on campus.