Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance

Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick is a collection of short stories by Zora Neale Hurston, published in 2020 by Amistad. The anthology features rediscovered works from Hurston's early career during the Harlem Renaissance, including eight "lost" stories that had gone unpublished since their original appearances in periodicals. The stories capture life in both rural Florida and urban Harlem during the early 20th century. Characters range from farmers and factory workers to parents and lovers, each navigating the complexities of love, marriage, class mobility, and racial identity. Hurston draws heavily from her experiences growing up in Eatonville, Florida - America's first incorporated Black township - while also depicting the energy and challenges of life in Harlem. Her use of vernacular dialogue and folklore traditions creates an authentic portrait of African American life during this pivotal era. The collection demonstrates Hurston's ability to blend humor with social commentary, examining universal human experiences through the specific lens of Black American life in the 1920s and early 1930s. The stories explore themes of personal empowerment, community bonds, and the tension between tradition and progress.

Readers appreciate Hurston's vivid portrayal of Black life in the 1920s and her use of authentic dialogue and vernacular speech. Many note her sharp observations of class dynamics, gender roles, and race relations. Readers liked: - The mix of humor and serious social commentary - Short story format makes it accessible - Historical context and cultural insights - Strong character development within brief stories Readers disliked: - Some found the dialect writing difficult to follow - A few stories felt incomplete or abrupt - Repetitive themes across multiple stories - Some wanted more connection between stories Ratings: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (1,200+ ratings) Amazon: 4.6/5 (300+ ratings) Notable reader comment: "Each story captures a complete world in just a few pages. The dialogue brings 1920s Harlem to life." - Goodreads reviewer Critical comment: "The dialect writing takes work to understand, but persistence pays off." - Amazon reviewer

The Complete Stories of Paul Laurence Dunbar This collection preserves Black American life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through vernacular storytelling and rural-to-urban narratives.

Flying Home and Other Stories by Ralph Ellison These short stories chronicle the Black experience across the American South and urban centers with folklore elements and cultural insights.

The Ways of White Folks by Langston Hughes Hughes's short story collection examines race relations and Black life during the Harlem Renaissance through varied character perspectives.

Tales of Conjure and The Color Line by Charles W. Chesnutt Through folkloric tales and realist fiction, this collection depicts African American experiences in the post-Reconstruction era.

In Love and Trouble: Stories of Black Women by Alice Walker Walker's stories present complex portraits of Black women in the rural South, incorporating folklore and vernacular traditions.

🔸 The book's title comes from an African American folk expression meaning to achieve a goal through indirect means - a theme that runs through many of Hurston's works. 🔸 Eatonville, Florida, where many stories are set, was one of the first self-governing all-Black municipalities in the United States, incorporated in 1887. 🔸 Eight of the stories in this collection were considered lost until 2016 when they were discovered in forgotten periodicals and archives from the 1920s and 1930s. 🔸 Hurston worked as a folklorist for the Federal Writers' Project during the Great Depression, collecting and preserving African American oral traditions that later influenced her writing. 🔸 Despite being a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance, Hurston died in poverty in 1960 and was buried in an unmarked grave until author Alice Walker located and marked it in 1973.