Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick is a compilation of recovered short stories written by Zora Neale Hurston. It was published in 2020 by Amistad: An Imprint of HarperCollins publishers. ISBN 978-0-06-291579-5
Foreword The foreword of Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick, dated August 19, 2019, was written by Tayari Jones. Jones gives readers a perspective on Zora Neale Hurston's influence as a writer and how she chose to reveal herself through her writings. Through the stories of country folks, farmers, factory workers, and more, Hurston explores every capacity of the human experience.Jones, Tayari. "Love Letter and Testimony." Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick, Amistad: An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY, 2020, pp. viiii-xiv. Jones also explains how Zora Neale Hurston shares her sense of humor with her audiences. An important aspect of Zora Neale Hurston's writings, according to Jones, is that even the happiest and funniest characters still get the blues. Jones describes how Hurston shares all walks of life through parents, lovers, children, spouses, and friends. Jones also explains how Hurston found inspiration from her hometown of Eatonville, Florida and made no attempts to hide its identity. Hurston loved her hometown and her writings are both love letters and testimonies to where she grew up. According to Jones, Hurston's stories are timeless as she portrays people with underlying power that they must find within themselves. Jones describes how Alice Walker found Zora Neale Hurston's grave and how Hurston was a victim of racism and sexism.
Introduction The introduction to Zora Neale Hurston's, Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick, dated October 22, 2019, was written by Genevieve West. West makes the case that Hurston was ahead of her time in her critiques of race, gender, class, and art, and that she used romance to explore these topics.West, Genevieve. "Introduction." Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick, Amistad: An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2020, pp. xv-xliii. West also explains Hurston's desire to create stories that show the effects of the Great Migration and people moving between rural and urban environments. She outlines Hurston's academic experiences from high school to college at Howard University and shows how her education had a positive impact on her career as an author. West also provides information about Zora Neale Hurston's family history and shows how her experiences influenced her writings. West explains how Hurston's short stories opened doors that provided her with literary contacts and led to her finding a book publisher in the 1930s. The introduction is separated into sections called: "Hurston 'Really Did Get Born,'" "The Politics of Art in the Harlem Renaissance," "Interrogating the Politics of Gender and Class," "Exploring the Politics of Race and Class," and "The End of the Era."
Short stories These are the short stories included in Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick.
John Redding Goes to Sea John Redding Goes to Sea follows the story of the title character from childhood to adulthood. He longs to leave his hometown and explore the world, but his mother, Matty, is possessive and superstitious, and she claims to be ill to convince him to stay. His wife, Stella, works with John's mother to prevent him from traveling. He relinquishes his dreams and remains home with his mother and wife despite his efforts to educate himself. John eventually develops the urge to join the Navy. The night he planned to tell his family about his enlisting, he is killed while working to build a bridge on the St. Johns River. His body is not recovered from the river and his wish of travel is granted in death as he floats down the river toward the Atlantic Ocean.
The Conversion of Sam This tale is about Sam Simpson and his goal to win over Stella, who has recently moved to Harlem from Virginia. Sam does all he can to impress the young woman, relinquishing his gambling lifestyle and getting a respectable job. Stella accepts his marriage proposal and they move into a quaint middle-class neighborhood, but Sam falls back into his old ways and gambles away all of their money. After Stella is injured while searching for him one night, Sam is determined to give up his unhealthy habits once and for all. When Sam begs to get his job back, his boss agrees under the condition that Sam does not relapse again. Sam continuously must make the choice between what he has always been and who he wishes to become.
A Bit of Our Harlem A Bit of Our Harlem tells the story of a hunch-backed, orphan boy and a woman who has also lost both of her parents. They meet while the boy is selling cheap candy in the neighborhood. The two engage in a conversation that is filled with purity, sympathy, and a mutual respect for one another. The feeling of fellowship is something the woman desired but had not found amongst her own class.
Drenched in Light This story, which takes place in Florida in the 1920s, follows a child named Isis Watts and her desire to have fun instead of doing chores for her grandmother. During an afternoon of make-believe she adorns herself in her grandmother's new tablecloth and follows a marching band to a nearby carnival where she has the time of her life dancing. When her grandmother finds Isis, she demands that Isis return home, but Isis runs away, claiming that she wants to die. However, a white woman passing her in a car with two men asks her to come with them, saying that they she wants Isis's sunshine to seep into her soul.
Spunk This early short story follows the title character as he does what he pleases. Spunk Banks flaunts his affair with Lena Kanty to the town of Eatonville, FL, including Lena's husband, Joe Kanty. The other men make fun of Joe for appearing weak because he does not confront Spunk. When Joe works up the gumption to approach Spunk while armed with a razor blade, Spunk shoots him dead. Spunk goes to trial but is acquitted on grounds of self defense. However, Spunk begins to believe that Joe in the form of a ghost is seeking revenge. Spunk meets his untimely end when what he thinks to be the spirit of Joe pushes him into a moving saw at his job.
Magnolia Flower Magnolia Flower is told from the perspective of the St. Johns River. This mystical tale is about Bentley, an escaped former slave. He builds a village along the river and marries a Cherokee woman, Swift Deer. Magnolia Flower is the name they give their daughter. Years later, a man named John comes to the village with the desire to build a school. He and Magnolia Flower fall in love, but Bentley develops a hatred for John because of his similarities to white men and sentences him to death. But before he can carry out this sentence, Magnolia Flower and John flee the village. They return to the same place on the river forty years later.
Black Death This story is about Mrs. Boger's revenge against Beau Didley, who has deceived her daughter Docia into thinking that he loves her. When Docia becomes pregnant, instead of marrying her Beau slanders her name among the townspeople of Eatonville. Furious about his treatment of her daughter, Mrs. Boger goes to a witch doctor to purchase a deadly revenge against him. The witch doctor's mirror shows Beau's death and the next day he is found dead with a mysterious burn mark on his chest. His death is ruled the result of natural causes and Mrs. Boger and Docia move to Jacksonville to live happily ever after.
The Bone of Contention In this story, Joe Clarke owns the town of Eatonville. He calls for a trial to determine whether Jim Weston is guilty of stealing and should be exiled from Eatonville. Joe led the trial. However, after allowing for rebuttals and arguments, he ends the trial early. As the owner of the town, Joe wanted to show his power by ending the trial and deciding the punishment for Weston himself.
Muttsy In this tale the title character is a notorious gambler who falls in love with a young woman named Pinkie Jones who has recently moved to Eatonville, Florida from Harlem. He pays for her accommodations, but she is guided by a strong moral compass and flees to get away from him and the loose company that he keeps. Pinkie's resistance increases Muttsy's desire for her and makes him realize that to keep her he must stop gambling. He get himself an honest job and persuades Pinkie to marry him, but he falls back into his bad habits and starts gambling again.
Sweat This story is about Delia Jones, a hardworking Christian woman who is being abused by her unfaithful husband, Syke Jones. He tries to drive Delia away by making her life miserable, but she refuses to leave the home her father gave her and that she has worked so hard to maintain. Taking advantage of Delia's intense fear of snakes, Syke first places a rattlesnake outside the house and then in her laundry hamper. Syke's plan for the snake to bite and kill Delia are upended when Delia escapes and the rattlesnake bites him instead, causing him to have an agonizing death.
Under the Bridge This story presents a love triangle between 58-year-old Luke Mimms, his new 19-year-old wife, Vangie, and his 22-year-old son, Artie. The new family unit finds peace with each other until the friendship between Vangie and Artie begins to advance into something more. Luke becomes increasingly jealous, leading him to try to use hoodoo charms to halt Artie and Vangie's love. In a heated moment, Luke finds he has lost the charm, reversing the effects. Luke must then watch Artie and Vangie kiss and feel emotionally betrayed.
'Possum or Pig? In this story, John suspects that an enslaved man who has been loyal to him may be stealing his pigs. When John confronts the enslaved man, his suspicions are confirmed.
The Eatonville Anthology The editors of this book have grouped Hurston's very short stories into "The Eatonville Anthology." These vignettes present episodes from the lives of the townspeople as they interact with each other.
The Pleading Woman: Mrs. Roberts begs for food from people in the community, including Joe Clarke. He grows irritated because he knows that her husband provides well for her. However, her needs cannot be satisfied and she returns to beg day after day. Turpentine Love: Jim Merchant continues to love his wife even after all her teeth have to be pulled out. One day his wife's mother comes with turpentine to treat one of Mrs. Merchant's fits. The turpentine accidentally leaked into her eyes, curing her ailments. Story III: A woman named Becky Moore has 11 children. The narrator blames the fathers of the children for the fact that Becky is unmarried. The other mothers in town become afraid that this is contagious and refuse to let their children play with hers. Tippy: The title character of this story is Syke Jones's dog. Tippy is described as the most interesting member of the Jones family and a lover of bones. However, there is a death sentence hanging over Tippy's head for stealing meat and eggs. None of the many attempts on his life have been successful and Tippy continues to be friendly to everyone he encounters. The Way of a Man with a Train: Old Man Anderson has lived in the woods with no desire to see a train, but one day he decides to lead his horse to a railway station. Anderson is startled by the roaring engine and the oncoming smoke from the train and flees the station. Coon Taylor: The title character is a thief in Eatonville who steals chickens, watermelons, and muskmelons. Coon Taylor has never been caught for his crimes until Joe Clarke took it upon himself to catch him in the act. His first attempt fails when Joe falls asleep and a melon is accidentally busted on his head. In his next attempt, Joe catches Coon stealing sugarcane and forces him to eat every last bit. Then Joe banishes him from Eatonville for three months.