Writer and Anthropologist
Let’s talk about the Z’s and I don’t mean sleeping, because if you have ever read anything by these two writers, then you know that sleep is the last thing that Zora Neale Hurston and Zadie Smith provoke. I know that it is quite ambitious of me to write about them in the same blog post, but I find that they have more in common than it first appears besides having cool names that begin with the letter ‘Z.’ I will however in another blog discuss their bodies of work or a singular work separately, but for now, I want to discuss some of their similarities.
Since this is books and stick (lipstick), I know that Zadie Smith is a fan of red stick, and Zora Neale Hurston has been photographed with a nude lip, but she was a firecracker ( I read a letter that Zora Neale Hurston wrote to a man and told him that she will wear a red dress to his funeral), therefore I think Pat McGrath Labs’ Mattetrance Lipstick in Elson. is a great choice for both ladies. Zadie Smith is British like Pat McGrath who is the mother of colorful mixtures of bedazzled makeup and Ms. Zora Neale Hurston mixes language that spins beautiful stories. (Love Zora so much, check out the background of my profile picture). I was in the now-defunct Zora Neale Hurston restaurant in Washington D.C., across the street from Busboys and Poets in honor of Langston Hughes. At least they were together in spirit for a short while.
Although Langston Hughes and Richard Wright could not fully appreciate Hurston’s use of her native southern vernacular, Zadie Smith does. Smith writes an absolute drop the mic Introduction in Virago Modern Classics edition of Their Eyes Were Watching God and if you have not read it, you must. If you have read it, then I am sure that you have read it more than once. Essentially, Smith refers to Hurston’s use of language as soulful and compares her female characters to the likes of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte. Smith also writes that when her mother gave her the book to her to read, she did not want to like it. However, Hurston’s characters and language hooked Smith and she fell in love with the lyrical language, stating that mythical language is startling when it’s good.
Likewise, Smith writes in the vernacular in which she grew up as a Jamaican-British girl in the multicultural world of Northwest London. We hear this is not only White Teeth but all of her novels to date including On Beauty which is set in the United States. I would not classify Smith’s writing as ‘mystical’, but brilliantly intellectual with a twist of modernity, mixed with a touch of soul. (If I can think of something better I will, but this will suffice for now). Until I read White Teeth, my only vision of New Britain was during one of my visits to London in the late 80s and I heard a beautiful, young sister greet me in a British accent. I must say, it was my first time hearing that accent coming out of the mouth of someone who looked like me. Her greeting spurred my imagination into overhaul! I wanted to see where she lived as I imagined what her life was like. Curiosity led to scenarios in my mind and to my faking a British accent!
Hurston changed the way critics viewed colloquialism in literature, specifically African American literature and Smith has changed the literary canon. I do believe that she is a member of the new canon and it is refreshing because before Smith most of the British writers that I read were dead white men and women. I was so excited when I heard of Zadie Smith and her debut novel, White Teeth!
There is no denying that Zora Neale Hurston has proven herself as an exceptional writer and anthropologist who has left us her gifts and who continues to amaze us posthumously. Zadie Smith has established herself as one of the great writers of the post-modern world. Both Z’s give us beautiful language and real female characters of color and culture.
Let’s talk about the Z’s and I don’t mean sleeping, because if you have ever read anything by these two writers, then you know that sleep is the last thing that Zora Neale Hurston and Zadie Smith provoke. I know that it is quite ambitious of me to write about them in the same blog post, but I find that they have more in common than it first appears besides having cool names that begin with the letter ‘Z.’ I will however in another blog discuss their bodies of work or a singular work separately, but for now, I want to discuss some of their similarities.
Since this is books and stick (lipstick), I know that Zadie Smith is a fan of red stick, and Zora Neale Hurston has been photographed with a nude lip, but she was a firecracker ( I read a letter that Zora Neale Hurston wrote to a man and told him that she will wear a red dress to his funeral), therefore I am wearing Pat McGrath Labs’ Mattetrance Lipstick in Elson. Zadie Smith is British like Pat McGrath who is the mother of colorful mixtures of bedazzled makeup and Ms. Zora Neale Hurston mixes language that spins beautiful stories. (Love Zora so much, check out the background of my profile picture). I was in the now-defunct Zora Neale Hurston restaurant in Washington D.C., across the street from Busboys and Poets in honor of Langston Hughes. At least they were together in spirit for a short while.
Although Langston Hughes and Richard Wright could not fully appreciate Hurston’s use of her native southern vernacular, Zadie Smith does. Smith writes an absolute drop the mic Introduction in Virago Modern Classics edition of Their Eyes Were Watching God and if you have not read it, you must. If you have read it, then I’m sure that you have read it more than once. Essentially, Smith refers to Hurston’s use of language as soulful and compares her female characters to the likes of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte. Smith also writes that when her mother gave her the book to her to read, she did not want to like it. However, Hurston’s characters and language hooked Smith and she fell in love with the lyrical language, stating that mythical language is startling when it’s good.
Likewise, Smith writes in the vernacular in which she grew up as a Jamaican-British girl in the multicultural world of Northwest London. We hear this is not only White Teeth but all of her novels to date including On Beauty which is set in the United States. I would not classify Smith’s writing as ‘mystical’, but brilliantly intellectual with a twist of modernity, mixed with a touch of soul. (If I can think of something better I will, but this will suffice for now). Until I read White Teeth, my only vision of New Britain was during one of my visits to London in the late 80s and I heard a beautiful, young sister greet me in a British accent. I must say, it was my first time hearing that accent coming out of the mouth of someone who looked like me. Her greeting spurred my imagination into overhaul! I wanted to see where she lived as I imagined what her life was like. Curiosity led to scenarios in my mind and to my faking a British accent!
Hurston changed the way critics viewed colloquialism in literature, specifically African American literature and Smith has changed the literary canon. I do believe that she is a member of the new canon and it is refreshing because before Smith most of the British writers that I read were dead white men and women. I was so excited when I heard of Zadie Smith and her debut novel, White Teeth!
There is no denying that Zora Neale Hurston has proven herself as an exceptional writer and anthropologist who has left us her gifts and who continues to amaze us posthumously. Zadie Smith has established herself as one of the great writers of the post-modern world. Both Z’s give us beautiful language and real female characters of color and culture.