Each month, the Official Rogue Book Club brings together readers, art-lovers, and special guests to discuss books that inspire us to look at art and life in new and unexpected ways. To offer context to Betye Saar’s illustrations of short stories by Zora Neale Hurston, on view in Legends from Los Angeles: Betye, Lezley, and Allison Saar, and in recognition of Black History Month, the Rogue Book Club is tackling Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance, by Zora Neale Hurston.

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. Brought together for the first time in one volume, the book includes eight of Hurston’s "lost" Harlem stories, which were found in forgotten periodicals and archives. These stories challenge conceptions of Hurston as an author of rural fiction and include gems that flash with her biting, satiric humor, as well as more serious tales reflective of the cultural currents of Hurston’s world. All are timeless classics that enrich our understanding and appreciation of this exceptional writer’s voice and her contributions to America’s literary traditions.

This program will last approximately 60 minutes.