Amistad: An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2020. Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick is an anthology of 21 fictitious and folkloric short stories written by Zora Neale Hurston from 1921 to 1934, spanning the Harlem Renaissance. [ Return to the review of “Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick.” So the next day Eatonville knew; and the scourge of tongues was added to Docia’s woes. The fuller phrase “God can hit a straight lick with a crooked stick” is an idiomatic expression that grew from an original from an English clergyman in the mid-15th century. Hitting a Straight Lick With a Crooked Stick collects all 21, including eight “lost” stories, for the first time in one volume. Buy Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance : Books at SamsClub.com Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick is an outstanding collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism and sexism that proudly reflect African American folk culture. Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick January 16, 2021 January 16, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson Zora Neale Hurston was one of the pioneering authors during the Harlem Renaissance and is most well-known for the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God . Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance. Find out why Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick by Zora Neale Hurston is on TIME's list of the must-read books from this year. From “one of the greatest writers of our time” (Toni Morrison)—the author of Barracoon and Their Eyes Were Watching God—a collection of remarkable stories, including eight “lost” Harlem Renaissance tales now available to a wide audience for the first time. According to the introduction, eight stories within the collection were “lost,” though I’m not sure why lost is in quote marks. Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick helps illuminate Hurston’s path to iconic status…Add [Hurston’s] matchless powers of observation, exemplary fidelity to idiomatic speech and irresistible engagement with folklore, and the outcome is a collection of value to more than Hurston completists. “Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick helps illuminate Hurston’s path to iconic status…Add [Hurston’s] matchless powers of observation, exemplary fidelity to idiomatic speech and irresistible engagement with folklore, and the outcome is a collection of value to more than Hurston completists. Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick is a collection of short stories Hurston wrote between 1921 and 1937 (which is when her most famous novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God was published). Hitting a Straight Lick With a Crooked Stick - “Book of Harlem” – “Monkey Junk” Summary & Analysis Zora Neale Hurston This Study Guide consists of approximately 67 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Hitting a Straight Lick With a Crooked Stick.