Zora Neale Hurston isn't as well known as iconic black authors Alice Walker, Toni Morrison or Maya Angelou but it's more than likely her writing influenced all three, among countless others.
After studying a degree in Anthropology (perhaps the ideal area of study for a novelist?!) Hurston used her training to write a study of secret societies in Haiti. She also wrote about African-American folklore and worked as a journalist. But her breakthrough and best known work came in 1937 with her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Perhaps surprisingly, Zora Neale Hurston was a Republican who believed black people living among white people was not necessarily the ideal social model. While I can't really see her point, I do admire the way she forged her own beliefs and her own path through life.
And of course, the fact that her work lives on, with everyone from Zadie Smith to Oprah Winfrey being a fan of her writing.
Read this: Their Eyes Were Watching God (There's also an Oprah-produced film, starring Halle Berry). [DS]
What do you think - and who's your favourite trailblazer?
