Zora Neale Hurston was a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance and a pioneer in the study of African American folklore. Her most famous novel, 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' (1937), tells the story of Janie Crawford’s journey toward self-discovery and independence. Hurston was also a trained anthropologist; she traveled through the American South and the Caribbean collecting oral histories, songs, and hoodoo traditions. Her use of rural Southern Black dialect in her writing was controversial at the time, as some of her contemporaries felt it reinforced negative stereotypes. However, Hurston believed it was essential to preserve the authentic 'soul' of her culture. Despite her genius, she died in poverty and obscurity in 1960. It wasn't until the 1970s, thanks to the efforts of author Alice Walker, that Hurston’s work was rediscovered and she was recognized as a literary giant.