Hurston, Zora Neale: 1891-1960
Barracoon, 2018 - Information about the Book
- General Information
- This is the oral history of Cudjo Lewis, or Oluale Kossola, the last living African “cargo” of the slave ship, Clotilda. Kossola was sold and captured from Dahomey (presently Benin) and brought to Mobile Bay in Alabama.
- Information from Wikipeda
- Facts
- Hurston began working as an investigator for the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) in 1927.
She traveled for six months throughout Florida and other places in the South to collect folklore from the Black people living there. Hurston interviewed Kossola in Mobile, Alabama. Based on this interview, the article, “Cudjo’s Own Story of the Last African Slaver,” was published in The Journal of Negro History.
Hurston made many attempts to publish the interview as "Barracoon", but was unsuccessful. She did not find a pubisher because she wanted to authentically represent Kossola’s story by writing in his dialect.
The book was finally published in 2018. - A barraccoon is a prison where captives were held before being shipped across the Atlantic.
- Articles
- Zora Neale Hurston study of last survivor of US slave trade to be published. The Guardian; December 19, 2017
- 'Barracoon' Brings A Lost Slave Story To Light. NPR Radio; May 8, 2018
- Audio (6:06)
'Barracoon' Offers a Vivid, First-Hand Account of Slavery in America. NPR Radio; May 8, 2018
Transcript - Video (1:16:31)
Ms. Plant, the book’s editor, talks about the book. C-SPAN-; June 27, 2020 - A Different Backstory. Los Angeles Review of Books; July 7, 2018
- Publishing History
- Audio (3:50)
'Barracoon' Gets Published, More than 60 Years Later. NPR Radio; May 5, 2018
Transcript - Kim Racon calls Dr. Deborah Plant, editor and African American literature and Africana Studies scholar, to talk about the publication of "Barracoon." May 3, 2018
" - Zora Neale Hurston's Book on a Former Slave Took 90 Years to Publish. Huffpost; April 27, 2018
- Long-Unpublished Barracoon Finds Its Place After Decades of Delay. Homepage; May 10, 2018
- Audio (3:50)