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