Book Reviewed: Every Tub Must Sit on Its Own Bottom: The Philosophy and Politics of Zora Neale Hurston by Deborah G. Plant

The heart and mind of Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neal Hurston was a part of Harlem renaissance, an intellectual, social, and artistic explosion centered in Harlem during the roaring 1920s. She was also an anthropologist, folklorist, and a playwright. She is well known for her pivotal novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” which is about a Southern love story told by a woman who refuses to live in sorrow, bitterness, fear, or foolish romantic dreams. It is the story of a black woman, fiercely independent and her evolving selfhood through failed marriages and a life marked by poverty, trials, and purpose. Another book Hurston is known for is Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo,” about the life of a man named Oluale Kossola, who was transported from West Africa to slavery in Alabama in 1860. Her work is a testament to Zora’s singular vision amid so many competing pressures to love blackness at a time that determined to hate it.

In this book, Professor Deborah Plant of the University of South Florida examines Hurston's philosophy and politics considering black women's resistance to domination and struggle for empowerment. Hurston reflected on her innermost thoughts as the only place in which she could escape societal limitations and freely express herself. She found affirmation, a place to heal, restore and recover. She constructed alternative images of herself to stand in opposition to the controlling, stereotypical images of women, built on objectification and subjugation. Hurston deeply believed that the black culture is a vital component in their full political emancipation, individually and collectively. She discovered new (literary) frontiers; she searched for lost cities; she navigated boats; and she climbed mountains. Like the men of her day, she smoked in public, wore pants, spoke her mind, and loved setting her hat at a rakish angle. Her belligerence, tendency to stand and do battle for what is right stands out conspicuously in her life. Zora Neale Hurston leaves us several empowering legacies. Her life expresses the transformative and revolutionary possibilities of an androgynous spirit. Zora was a Republican, a feminist, and believed in the work of Booker T. Washington on black education and self-emancipation.

The author could have revised the order of chapters that made it easy for readers to connect with Zora Hurston better. The writing is in metaphysical style and the reading would be bumpy. I recommend this book to readers interested in the life of Zora Neale Hurston and black American history.