Genius Alice Walker Rigorous, convincing, dazzling Zadie Smith onTheir Eyes Were Watching God In 1925, college student Zora Neale Hurston – the sole black student at Barnard College, New York – was living in the city, desperately striving for a toe-hold on the world. During this period, she began writing short works that captured the zeitgeist of African American life and transformed her into one of the central figures of the Harlem Renaissance. Nearly a century later, this singular talent is recognised as one of the most influential and revered American artists of the modern period. Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stickis an outstanding collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism and sexism that proudly reflect African American folk culture. Brought together for the first time in one volume, they include eight of Hurstons lost Harlem stories, which were found in forgotten periodicals and archives. These stories challenge conceptions of Hurston as an author of rural fiction and include gems that flash with her biting, satiric humour, as well as more serious tales reflective of the cultural currents of Hurstons world. All are timeless classics that enrich our understanding and appreciation of this exceptional writers voice and her contributions to Americas literary traditions.