Zora Neale Hurston was an African American author born in 1891 in Alabama who became renowned for her 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. She had a varied early life and education, working numerous jobs before graduating from college in 1928. Hurston wrote several books and published many articles in magazines, though stopped writing later in life. She died in 1960 in poverty and was buried in an unmarked grave until writer Alice Walker discovered her gravesite.

1. Zora Neale Hurston January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960

2. Zora Neale Hurston Born in Alabama in 1891 Moved to Florida to the first black township where her father became the mayor Her mom died when she was 13 and she began to follow a different path to discover herself

3. Education After her mom died she quit school and started working various jobs At 26, she decided to return to school claiming she was only 16 to receive free schooling Graduated from Bernard College in 1928

4. Writings Wrote “Spunk” followed by “Color Struck”, a play Wrote many books, “Their Eyes Were Watching God” is the most well known She had many articles published in magazines, Opportunity being one of them

5. End of Zora’s Life Stopped writing Had a stroke in 1959 Died in 1960 from hypertensive heart disease Buried in an unmarked grave in the Garden of Heavenly Rest in Fort Pierce Alice Walker discovered her grave and wrote a book about it

6. Other Interesting Facts She practiced hoodoo and black magic and wrote about it Accused of molesting her landlady’s mentally disturbed 10 year old son, the case was dropped but the media portrayed her in a bad light