Festival to celebrate writer through storytelling, screening

Zora Neale Hurston's literary voice will spring back to life today as the Black Film Center/Archive and the Department of African-American and African Diaspora Studies co-sponsor a three-day celebration of Hurston's works, entitled Zora, O Zora!\nHurston, a graduate of Howard University and Barnard College, is considered among the 20th century's most important writers. She is best known for her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) and for her active participation in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.\nDr. Audrey McCluskey, director of the Black Film Center/Archive, has been a long time fan of Hurston's work. Audrey has taught Hurston's work in many of her courses.\n"I thought it was about time we did something here at IU to honor Zora Neale Hurston," Dr. Audrey McCluskey said. "She was able to make her own path. If she were living today, she would still be unique." \nThe festivities begin today with a panel discussion comprised of faculty, graduate and undergraduate students. Discussion topics range from the Harlem Renaissance and folklore to issues of gender, race and power.\nJohn McCluskey, a professor in the AAADS department for 25 years, will be discussing Hurston's involvement in the Harlem Renaissance.\n"We will be talking heads for about 10 to 15 minutes each, then the panel will be open for questions from other panelists and the audience," John McCluskey said.\nHe said Hurston's literature has affected him both personally and professionally.\n"As a writer I'm impressed by how much confidence and respect she had in black folks," he said.\nSophomore history major Heather Essex said she definitely plans on attending Zora, O Zora! Essex read Hurston's Mules and Men for pleasure in high school. \n"She captured images and tales of black history and has an interesting personal story," she said.\nThe celebration continues Thursday when the Black Film Center/Archive presents The Gilded Six Bits, a film adapted from one of Hurston's short stories. The film has been nationally televised on Showtime and was recognized as the best film featured by the Hollywood Reporter, a daily entertainment paper, according to a statement.\n"I wanted to have a film event to frame the whole festival," Dr. Audrey McCluskey said.\nBooker T. Mattison, the award-winning filmmaker, will be available to meet after the screening which begins at 7 p.m. in Lindley Hall.\nThe celebration will close Friday with Maxine LeGall's program Time Well Spent: Stories from Zora Neale Hurston. LeGall is a member of the National Association for Black Storytellers and a professor of communications at the University of the District of Columbia. \nDr. Audrey McCluskey said she believes IU is an ideal place to celebrate Hurston's works.\n"Both the students and the community can benefit by having a more in-depth knowledge about her spirit," she said. "We want everyone to learn about her place in American literature."\nSupporters of Zora, O Zora! are looking for big crowds at each event.\n"My hope is for people to seek out other works by Hurston and of the Harlem Renaissance," John McCluskey said. "I hope it doesn't stop on Friday"