Zora Neale Hurston was an influential African American author born in 1891 in Alabama. She grew up in Eatonville, Florida, the first incorporated black town in America, which inspired many of her stories. After her mother's death, Hurston worked various jobs with little formal education. She later attended Howard University and began her writing career during the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston published several novels, stories, and an autobiography throughout her life, though she struggled with poverty for many years and died in 1960. Her most famous work, Their Eyes Were Watching God, brought her renewed popularity and critical acclaim after being reprinted in the late 1980s.