EDWIDGE DANTICAT: SEEING HAITI THROUGH THE EYES OF A WRITER

This is an introduction to Edwidge Danticat.  She is a contemporary Haitian writer.  Read her!

She is currently at the pinnacle of a stellar career receiving the most prestigious awards, honorary degrees and critical acclaim.  For anyone who wants to learn about Haiti, taking the beauty and the tragedy in together, this is who you want to read first.

By way of her introducing herself, I offer links to a series of video interviews:

• PBS Newshour in 2010
• Democracy Now in 2010
• A short PBS interview in 2011

The first of her books I read was Krik?Krak! a collection of her short stories.  She reaches into the story of her own family for Brother, I'm Dying, an illuminating exposition of the tragedy that can accompany families who fled Papa Doc's tyranny for the risks and opportunities of the United States.

The interviews above were done in the wake of her 2010 collection of essays, Create Dangerously, reflecting on her experience as an artist in exile.  These 12 essays are powerful and are essential reading for those of us who want to absorb a Haitian point of view.  I emphatically recommend it!

Just this week on August 27 her latest book came out to lavish reviews suggesting it is her best work yet.  Claire of the Sea Light, is on my reading list.  Here is an interview with Danticat about her new book.

Jacques Roumain (1907-1944) is another writer of great significance in Haiti's literary history.  He became known in the English speaking world because Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, among other American writers, spent time in Haiti, learned of his work and translated it into English.  His work reveals peasant life in Haiti in much the same way as Zora Neale Hurston portrayed the lives of poor African American farmers in the early 20th century.

Graham Greene's The Comedians is a source of Haiti's reputation for many English readers.  It is an entirely different viewpoint.  Set in the time of the Duvalier regime, it paints a picture of life in a failed state and the exploitation of Voodoo as a tool for control of simple people through terror.  

Voodoo is a topic for another time.  Take my suggestion.  Read Edwidge Danticat first.

--kjl

HAITI HIGH!! WHAT A GREAT PARTY!!

There was a full house at SOHO.

There was laughter, conversation, new friendships and connections.

The fabulous food was a huge hit and drinks for everyone's taste.

The ambiance was festive and accented with Haitian flags.  

Even the weather was made to order!

The party planners were grinning with delight all evening watching and listening to friends having a great time.  Those from Haiti and those of us who have been to Haiti shared stories and answered questions.  I loved the questions like "Do you have room for one more this fall?" and "When will you be organizing another trip?" It was all about supporting opportunity and hope in Haiti

Then there was the auction!  A link must connect good preaching and auctioneering.  Pastor John Lentz certainly has a gift for both.  Assisted by Barb (Vanna) Lind with her spotlight, bidders were seduced into bids at and above what they expected to spend.

The contributions of quiltmakers Patti Falk, Lynn Kleinman and Barb Lind, and the glass perfume jar by glassmaker, Brent Kee Young, produced a total of $2,625 in sales to be added to the funds for the use of the Little Brothers and Little Sisters of the Incarnation at Pondiassou, Haiti.

The team who put this all together consisted of Steve Sedam, Deanne Lentz, Barb Lind and Laurie Logan.  They got some very important  help from Ralph Jean-Mary, Jeff and Anne Smith, Carline Paul-blanc.  Many others pitched in.

Key to the event's success was the SOHO Kitchen and Bar, its wonderful staff, and owners, Molly and Nolan.  The Kreyol buffet they put together just for this event was amazing.

Nolan and Molly are the youngsters in this picture.

The financial proceeds for this fundraising project are still being calculated.  Needless to say, though, it was a huge success for a first time effort.  In the end, financial success is not the true measure of what was accomplished through this event.  What matters more is the expansion of interest among people who have the will, the energy and the resources to support justice for Haiti's most needy.  Building capacity and community with Haitian partners requires a sustained movement, not just successful fundraising.

That is my take on our first FHC Haiti celebration event.

HAITI - A CELEBRATION OF SHARING WITH FRIENDS, JULY 14

With just a week left before the Haiti celebration the news is great!  More than 100 people have reservations and only a few places are left.  Cost is $50 per ticket.  The time is 5:00 to 8:00, Sunday, July 14.  Last minute reservations can be accepted by calling the Linds at 216-371-9004 or by emailing me at kermitlind@gmail.com ASAP.

And there's more!  The menu will include a sampling of Haitian appetizers and delicacies, with an assortment of beverages.  There will be music, laughter, mingling  and fun.  Speaking Kreyol is optional.

The benefit auction got a boost with a fourth wall quilt added just this week.  Here is a look at it.

If that is not your color scheme, here is another quilt that will be auctioned.  (Barb's legs not included.)

The really big item is the art glass shown below.  It is a work by Brent Kee Young, an internationally renown glass artist. Brent lives in Cleveland Heights and is Head of the Glass Department at the Cleveland Institute of Art.   To see more about him and his amazing work, go to this site.

The folks at the SOHO Kitchen and Bar are really wonderful!   Their help with preparation for this event on a night they are normally closed has been spectacular.  Thank you Molly and Nolan!  For those crossing a river to get to SOHO at 1889 W. 25th, this event will introduce you to a delightful West Side bistro to remember for fine dining.

To sum it up --

• Celebrate Haitian hope and resilience.  
• Help Forest Hill Church raise funds at SOHO, July 14, 5:00 - 8:00 PM.
• Call Linds at 216-371-9004 or email kermitlind@gmail.com for reservations now.
• Reservations are $50 each for food and two drinks. ($30 tax deductible.)
• For those needing it, a car pool is being organized to and from Cleveland Heights.
• Can't make it?  Contributions gratefully accepted by Forest Hill Church at 3031 Monticello Rd., Cleveland Heights, OH 44118.  (Website here.)
• Payments should be made to Forest Hill Church/Haiti Fund.

A promise: This is my last shameless plug for this event.

--Kermit

“Yon Ayisyen, Yon pye bwa,” or “A Haitian, A Tree.”

Here is an article that caught my eye.  This year's flower celebration's theme triggered memories of our visit last year in the Central Plateau around Hinche.  We saw bare mountainsides stretching for miles.  The tragedy of deforestation in Haiti is a centuries-old story with many chapters.

On the other hand, we saw tree planting programs and some of the results of reforestation.  I was especially inspired by the scenery of preserved forests around L'Ermitage, the hotel built and run by the Jean-Mary family.   Here is a glimpse of that vista.

On a walking tour of the family's land, Dr. Kyss Jean-Mary told us about the importance of planting and nurturing trees in Haiti.  Clearly that importance goes beyond restoring trees and retarding erosion; it is a spiritual affirmation of hope for recovery, for wellbeing, and for mending the relation of the ecosystem with the people living in it.  That hope has vision in plans for an arboretum featuring native trees on acreage within sight of the hotel at L'Ermitage.  

Others are part of the nation-wide reforestation effort.  The Mennonite Central Committee, for instance, has led a program that has planted more than 200,000 trees since 2008.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) are donating 400,000 trees for planting this year.  Most important of all is the effort being backed now by the Haitian government to plant 50 million trees per year.  This campaign's goal is to double the forest coverage by 2016 up to 4.5% of the country's land.  This is just a beginning towards bringing Haiti's forest coverage up to the level of other Caribbean countries.  That is expected to take 50 years.  (Read more about it here.)

So, I invite my reading friends to see the planting of trees not only as a practical necessity for the recovery of the ecosystem, but also as a metaphor for hope that must be sustained for decades to realize the renaissance of Haiti.