
Episode 4
Joe Starks has become Mayor of Eatonville, America's first all-black town. While he goes off to his meetings, Janie - who is now his wife - is left in charge of the new store.
Written by Zora Neale Hurston
Episode 4
Joe Starks has become Mayor of Eatonville, America's first all black town. While he goes off to his meetings, Janie - who is now his wife - is left in charge of the new store. But if Joe is revelling in his new found status, Janie is longing to be allowed to sit on the porch with all the other townsfolk and enjoy swapping stories.
This African-American classic was first published in the 1930s and is seen as one of the greatest American novels of the twentieth century. The author, Zora Neale Hurston, grew up in Eatonville, Florida, the first incorporated black town in America. Nearly every black female writer of significance - including Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and Alice Walker - acknowledges Zora Neale Hurston as her literary foremother.
"A rigorous, convincing and dazzling piece of prose, as emotionally satisfying as it is impressive." Zadie Smith
Read by Adjoa Andoh
Abridged and produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4.
Last on
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Reader | Adjoa Andoh |
| Producer | Jane Marshall |
| Abridger | Jane Marshall |
| Author | Zora Neale Hurston |
Broadcast
- Thu 18 Jul 201322:45BBC Radio 4



