GREAT BOOKS 11: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, with Deborah Plant

Summary: Zora Neale Hurston’s masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God, captures what is at the heart of all great literature: the irrepressible urge to speak, express oneself, and be heard and understood. I spoke with Professor Deborah Plant, a scholar of African-American literature and culture. Professor Plant explained how Hurston’s training as an anthropologist with Franz Boas at Barnard College shaped her writing, and how her novel constitutes one of our nation's greatest achievements.