I Love Myself When I Am Laughing... And Then Again When I Am Looking Mean and Impressive
ByPublisher Description
The foundational, classic anthology that revived interest in the author of Their Eyes Were Watching God—"one of the greatest writers of our time"—and made her work widely available for a new generation of readers (Toni Morrison).
During her lifetime, Zora Neale Hurston was praised for her writing but condemned for her independence and audacity. Her work fell into obscurity until the 1970s, when Alice Walker rediscovered Hurston's unmarked grave and anthologized her writing in this groundbreaking collection for the Feminist Press.
I Love Myself When I Am Laughing... And Then Again When I Am Looking Mean and Impressive established Hurston as an intellectual leader for future generations of black writers. A testament to the power and breadth of Hurston's oeuvre, this edition—newly reissued for the Feminist Press's fiftieth anniversary—features a new preface by Walker.
"Through Hurston, the soul of the black South gained one of its most articulate interpreters." —The New York Times
Download the free Fable app

Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities3 Reviews

freakycheyday
Created 6 months ago
Matt Bender
Created over 3 years ago
Jen S
Created over 4 years agoAbout Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) was a writer and anthropologist originally from the South, who became a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston is the author of the classic novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, as well as countless other volumes of fiction, poetry, and scholarly nonfiction. Her nonfiction book Barracoon, about the transatlantic slave trade, was published posthumously in 2018.
Alice Walker is a poet, writer, and activist. She is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for The Color Purple, and author of multiple novels, short stories, children’s books, essays, and poetry collections, including 2018’s Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart. Walker’s works have been translated into more than two dozen languages worldwide.
Mary Helen Washington is Distinguished University Professor in the English Department at the University of Maryland, College Park. Professor Washington specializes in twentieth- and twenty-first-century African American literature. She has edited several influential collections, including Black-Eyed Susans and Midnight Birds: Stories by and About Black Women and Invented Lives: Narratives of Black Women 1860–1960.
Other books by Zora Neale Hurston
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?