Dust Tracks on a Road: A Memoir

“Warm, witty, imaginative. . . . This is a rich and winning book.”—The New Yorker

Dust Tracks on a Road is the bold, poignant, and funny autobiography of novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, one of American literature’s most compelling and influential authors. Hurston’s powerful novels of the South—including Jonah’s Gourd Vine and, most famously, Their Eyes Were Watching God—continue to enthrall readers with their lyrical grace, sharp detail, and captivating emotionality. First published in 1942, Dust Tracks on a Road is Hurston’s personal story, told in her own words. The Perennial Modern Classics Deluxe edition includes an all-new forward by Maya Angelou, an extended biography by Valerie Boyd, and a special P.S. section featuring the contemporary reviews that greeted the book’s original publication.

First published in 1942 at the heightof her popularity, Dust Tracks ona Road is Zora Neale Hurston’scandid, funny, bold, andpoignant autobiography, animaginative and exuberantaccount of her rise from childhood povertyin the rural South to a prominent placeamong the leading artists and intellectualsof the Harlem Renaissance. As compelling asher acclaimed fiction, Hurston’s very personalliterary self-portrait offers a revealing, oftenaudacious glimpse into the life—publicand private—of an extraordinary artist,anthropologist, chronicler, and champion ofthe Black experience in America. Full of thewit and wisdom of a proud, spirited womanwho started off low and climbed high, DustTracks on a Road is a rare treasure from oneof literature’s most cherished voices.

“Delightful . . . wise . . . full of humor, color, and good sense.” - Saturday Review of Literature

“Told in a gutsy language ...her story is an encouraging and enjoyable one for any member of the human race.” - New York Review of Books