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Cargando... Mules and Men (1935)por Zora Neale Hurston
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Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. Zora Neale Hurston had a great interest in the African American storytelling and folklore traditions which were a prominent part of her childhood in Eatonville, Florida as well as across the entire American South. At a time in history when the lives of African Americans weren't given much regard at all, Hurston (with assistance from a Charlotte Osgood Mason - a patron of many Harlem Renaissance authors) spent 1928-1932 visiting her hometown and the surrounding cities, as well as New Orleans in Louisiana. She spoke with all sorts of people, and recorded the stories they told. These stories were collected into the book MULES AND MEN. There are 70 stories from her travels in Florida, and 30 stories in New Orleans. The later section includes a variety of Voodoo rituals and her experiences within the Voodoo ("hoodoo") community there. If you have an interest in folklore and legend, especially in the African American/slavery traditions, then you should really spend time with MULES AND MEN. (April 2013) Reread this as part of the collection Folklore, Memoirs and Other Writing, reposting review and quotes here. All page numbers are from that version. In her books that are mostly anthropology (Mules and Men, Tell My Horse) Hurston is always a participant-observer, and she never fails to be clear/blunt about her point of view, whether that's on the role and treatment of women, the poor, or the politicians. She takes a hard look at race, both in the US and in other countries, and doesn't dance around with her opinions. And every now and then she'll use a turn of phrase that really makes me appreciate her writing ability. (Note of personal bias: my mother is so southern that sometimes I can't understand her for her accent - and my own accent is with me at times. So sometimes Hurston's expressions sound like something my family would say, and I can't help but automatically enjoy that. Your mileage may vary.) Orig. pub. 1935, traveling FL and gathering folklore, hoodoo lore in New Orleans. (Advised to avoid the hoodoo sections: those who are upset by deaths of chickens and black cats. And yes, the cat part was hard for me, I had a black cat as a pet.) Quotes and ponderings: Mules and Men, p 66-7 - sample of the dialect and language Hurston transcribes in most of the stories - here a local man is flirting with Hurston, whom he's just met: " "...Some of 'em talkin' 'bout marryin' you and dey wouldn't know whut to do wid you if they had you. Now, dat's a fack."(As someone who is not a morning person, a guy offering me that breakfast scenario? I'd be smiling at him too.) Woofing is defined as (p. 229): "aimless talking. A man half seriously flirts with a girl, half seriously threatens to fight or brags of his prowess in love, battle or financial matters. The term comes from the purposeless of barking dogs at night." Mules and Men, p 119-120, from a story about God and creation: "...Way after while de flowers said, "Wese put heah to keep de world comp'ny but wese lonesome ourselves." Mules and Men, p 183, in New Orleans Hurston met Luke Turner, who said he was Marie Laveau's nephew. Turner on Leveau: "She was very pretty, one of the Creole Quadroons and many people said she would never be a hoodoo doctor like her mama and her grandma before her. She liked to go to the balls very much where all the young men fell in love with her. But Alexander, the great two-headed doctor felt the power in her and so he tell her she must come to study with him. Marie, she rather dance and make love, but one day a rattlesnake came to her in her bedroom and spoke to her. So she went to Alexander and studied. But soon she could teach her teacher and the snake stayed with her always. Mules and Men, p. 222 - telling about working with Kitty Brown "a well known hoodoo doctor of New Orleans, and a Catholic.": "...It was in October 1928, when I was a pupil of hers, that I shared in a hoodoo dance. This was not a pleasure dance, but ceremonial. In another generation African dances were held in Congo Square, now Beauregard Square. Those were held for social purposes and were of the same type as the fire dances and jumping dances present in the Bahamas. But the hoodoo dance is done for a specific purpose. It is always the case of death-to-the-enemy that calls forth a dance. They are very rare even in New Orleans now, even within the most inner circle, and no layman ever participates, nor has ever been allowed to witness such a ceremony." sin reseñas | añadir una reseña
Pertenece a las series editorialesPerennial Library (183) Contenido enAparece abreviada enI Love Myself When I Am Laughing... and Then Again When I Am Lookin Mean and Impressive: A Zora Neale Hurston Reader por Zora Neale Hurston Tiene como guía de estudio aListas de sobresalientes
Abrahams Mules and Men is the first great collection of black America's folk world. In the 1930's, Zora Neale Hurston returned to her "native village" of Eatonville, Florida to record the oral histories, sermons and songs, dating back to the time of slavery, which she remembered hearing as a child. In her quest, she found herself and her history throughout these highly metaphorical folk-tales, "big old lies," and the lyrical language of song. With this collection, Zora Neale Hurston has come to reveal'and preserve'a beautiful and important part of American culture. Zora Neale Hurston (1901-1960) was a novelist, folklorist, anthropologist and playwright whose fictional and factual accounts of black heritage are unparalleled. She is also the author of Tell My Horse, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Dust Tracks on a Road, and Mule Bone. Ruby Dee, a member of the Theatre Hall of Fame, starred on Broadway in the original productions of A Raisin in the Sun and Purlie Victorious, and was featured in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing. She is also an award-winning author and the producer of numerous television dramas. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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Google Books — Cargando... GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)398.209759Social sciences Customs, Etiquette, Folklore Folklore Folk literature History, geographic treatment, biography North American folktales Southeastern U.S. FloridaClasificación de la Biblioteca del CongresoValoraciónPromedio:
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The first part of this book is a collection of folklore from her home town Eatonville, Florida. At times I found this a little hard to read, but I still enjoyed hearing the tales. Nice to finally read something about Br'er Rabbit and his friends. I'm not sure why, but the original books are hard to find. I also enjoyed the John Henry stories as well.
The second part of this book is a collection of hoodoo tales for New Orleans. I liked this part better. It was easier to read and I liked reading about Marie Laveau. This part made more sense after reading Tell My Horse too.
Make sure you read the appendix parts of this too. It's filled with a glossary, songs (with lyrics and sheets), and some voodoo remedies. Those parts make the book a fun read. I really like how Zora wasn't just an author, but an anthropologist too. ( )