Our First Zora discussion!

There was a big crowd on hand for the first discussion of Zora Neale Hurston's Jonah's Gourd Vine. Thanks to Dr. April Langley, Associate Professor at Mizzou, for moderating the discussion! 

Sacred Harp Singing

In Chapter 2 of Jonah's Gourd Vine, Charlie describes Lucy Potts singing at church: "...she trebles right 'long wid dem grown women and kin sing all de notes--de square ones, de round ones, de triangles."

What may sound like a flowery way of describing music is actually referring to a specific type of singing and musical notation: Sacred Harp singing, also called shape-note singing, a style that gained popularity in the 1800s in the South. Unlike the eight-note "do-re-mi" style we all learned from The Sound of Music, Sacred Harp singing uses an older four-note English system, with different tones given different shapes in the songbooks:

Sacred Harp singing has a couple of other distinctive qualities, which are much more noticeable when you experience it live: first, the singers sit facing each other in a hollow square, with each side representing a specific vocal range (treble, alto, tenor, and bass); and second, it's loud. Really loud. Sacred Harp singing has no volume indicators that occur in more modern music, so singers tend to just belt it out. Watch the video below for an example of modern Sacred Harp singers:



Interested in checking out Sacred Harp singing in person? The St. Louis Shape Note Singers meet several times a month, often in a home in University City. Check out their website at http://www.stlfasola.org/ and remember to sing loud!

We had a terrific presentation by acclaimed storyteller Bobby Norfolk last Thursday night!  His program on the Harlem Renaissance featured tales, songs, and poems by Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, and James Weldon Johnson, among others.

The highlight of the evening was Bobby's performance of the tale Uncle Monday, which was collected by Zora Neale Hurston during her years working for the WPA on the Florida Writer's Project.  The text version of the folk tale, which is a rollicking story of alligators, hoodoo, and revenge, can be found in Go Gator and Muddy the Water, currently on display by the reference desk.

The story of Hurston's research on Florida folkways for the WPA is fascinating in its own right; visit the Library of Congress or Florida Memory and read on!

African American Expressions in Folk Art

Next Saturday, June 25 at 10:30am, the Saint Louis Art Museum will host a lecture that might be of interest to our Zora readers - African American Expressions in Folk Art.  This lecture, by art historian Alvia J. Wardlaw, accompanies the museum's exhibit, Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum.

Alvia J. Wardlaw is a curator of two groundbreaking exhibitions, the Quilts of Gee's Bend and Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial.

This lecture takes place in the Farrell Auditorium at SLAM.  It is free to attend, but advanced tickets are recommended.

Can't attend this lecture but want to learn more about the arts of the African American South or the Gee's Bend Quiltmakers?  Check out some great art and great information at the Souls Grown Deep Foundation - dedicated to documenting, researching, preserving, and exhibiting the work of self-taught African American artists of the American South.

Zora as inspiration to Alice Walker

Zora wearing pants

Many attended the kickoff event and listened to Dr. Rafia Zafar talk (see more from Dr. Zafar in her Library of America blog post) about Zora Neale Hurston and others have read the readers guide from the library or are making progress on “Jonah’s Gourde Vine.” I spent a little time reading “Zora Neale Hurston: a literary biography” by Robert E. Hemenway with a forward by Alice Walker.  The forward is really a love letter to Zora and tells of how Walker discovered her work and what it meant to her.  She talks about Zora giving her the perfect book.  The contents showed very regular black Americans in a way that made their typical stories marvelous.  As Walker learned more about Zora, she admired more about her.  She was funny, irreverent, good-looking, sexy, and confident.  She was curious and traveled “to find out anything she simply had to know” (p. xv).  She wore pants and lit up cigarettes in public during a time when it wasn’t acceptable lady like behavior.  In short, Zora lived life on her terms, not as someone else prescribed.  We probably all need exposure to someone who reminds us that we have options and choices.  Someone who inspires us because we can relate to them and respect them.  For Alice Walker, that person was Zora Neale Hurston.

 

Sure enough, she is smoking!

What a great kickoff!

Dr. Rafia Zafar, from Washington University, gave us a great kickoff speech about Zora Neale Hurston.
Dr. Zafar is a Professor of English, African and African American, and American Culture Studies at Washington University, and it was truly wonderful to hear her speak. If you didn't get a chance to hear Dr. Zafar on May 25, be sure and join us for the August 24 discussion and click here to watch a video of Dr. Zafar discussing the books she edited for Library of America, The Harlem Renaissance; Four Novels of the 1930s and The Harlem Renaissance; Five Novels of the 1920s.

What Do You Know? (about Zora Neale Hurston)

Zora Neale Hurston, 1937. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division - Photograph. Reproduction number: LC-USZ62-126945 (b&w film copy neg.)

We're all going to learn a lot about Zora Neale Hurston in the coming months.  Many of us know a little already, though.  Comment below with something you  know about this woman of many facets.  We'll share our knowledge here and at the first round of discussions!

• I know that Zora Neale Hurston was well-known for wearing a fabulous variety of hats!  (And we'll hear more about this as the summer goes on!)

Big Book Challenge 2016 FAQs

•  How soon may I pick up my book so I can get started?

We are hard at work getting the books and supporting materials ready to go for you.  Everything will be available at the kickoff May 25; if you have signed up through our online survey and are unable to attend the kickoff, your materials will be waiting for you on the hold shelf Thursday, May 26.

•   Do I need to have a University City card to participate?

Absolutely not!  You can check out Zora Neale Hurston’s Novels & Stories with a card from any of the libraries in the Municipal Library Consortium. If you don’t have one yet, or you’re not sure, we can sign you up for a UCPL card at the kickoff.

•   Is there any cost to participate?

Never!  All programs are free for everyone, and there is no charge to check out materials.

•   Must I commit to a particular discussion meeting time?

No, you may come to any discussions you wish, or even attend more than one per month if you are available.  If you can’t attend every month, that is perfectly fine.

•  What do I win if I participate and finish the readings?

v  Bragging rights: You’ll receive a specially designed Zora Neale Hurston button for your tote bag showing the number of pages completed, as well as a one-of-a-kind homemade bookmark.

v  That all-important sense of accomplishment: We’re all working together to tackle a challenge and stretch our horizons!

v  New friends: You’ll meet new people from your neighborhood and beyond.

v  The best things in life aren’t things, right?

Say YES to Big Book Challenge 2016!

Are you ready to join the best readers in town this summer as we tackle Zora Neale Hurston's Novels and Stories?  

RSVP yes by completing this very brief survey!

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