Every Tub Must Sit on Its Own Bottom

"Plant's study is sorelyneeded at this point in the evolving critical assessment of Hurston. Itis a paradigm for the study of individual African American women writers."-- Alice Deck, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignIn a ground-breaking studyof Zora Neale Hurston, Deborah Plant takes issue with current notionsof Hurston as a feminist and earlier impressions of her as an intellectuallightweight who disregarded serious issues of race in American culture.Instead, Plant calls Hurston a "writer of resistance" who challengedthe politics of domination both in her life and in her work. One of thegreat geniuses of the Harlem Renaissance, Hurston stands out as a strongvoice for African-American women. Her anthropological inquiries as wellas her evocative prose provide today's readers with a rich history ofAfrican American folk culture, a folk culture through which Hurston expressedher personal and political strategy of resistance and self-empowerment.Through readings of Hurston'sfiction and autobiographical writings, Plant offers one of the first book-lengthdiscussions of Hurston's personal philosophy of individualism and self-preservation.From a discussion of Hurston's preacher father and influential mother,whose guiding philosophy is reflected in the title of this book, to theinfluence of Spinoza and Nietzsche, Plant puts into perspective the drivingforces behind Hurston's powerful prose.This fresh look at one ofthe most important writers of the twentieth century is sure to shape futurestudy of Hurston and her work.