One Island, Two Countries, One Class: Haiti and the DR

I have been under the radar and not posting much this summer as I complete the final edits of my book, Conflict Bodies: The Politics of Rape Representation in the Francophone Imaginary (Ohio University Press, 2014). With a few deadlines behind me and the beginning of the semester a week away I am now preparing for fall classes. 

This year I will be teaching two new courses, “'How to Read and Write About Africa:' Comparative African Literatures," and “Beyond the Border: Haiti and the Dominican Republic.” Each of these classes provide me with an opportunity to focus on the importance of  using a comparative approach to think about Haiti through literary and cultural studies. I am excited to be reading excellent literature and pursuing new themes with my students. 

http://historysshadow.wordpress.com

For the Haiti/DR class I am using novels as my point of departure for a discussion of the historic, political and cultural disjunctures and similarities between the two countries. Of course we will explore the historic tensions from the Haitian presence in DR after the Revolution, to virulent anti-haitianismo policies, Dominican aid to Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake and current events such as the recent conflict over importations. 

We are reading five novels: Nelly Rosario’s Song of the Water Saints (2002), Edwidge Danticat’s The Farming of Bones (1998), In the Time of the Butterflies (1994) by Julia Alvarez, René Philoctète’s Massacre River (1989) and Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2008). Since the Danticat, Alvarez and Philoctete books are each set during the 1937 massacre, we will spend a lot of time discussing this period. I plan to add some essays from The Butterfly’s Way to complement our reading of Diaz and have more points of comparison for what these literatures look like in the diaspora and in a contemporary context.

Haitians attempting to flee the DR in 1937
Culturaldiplomacy.org via NPR.org

Other scholars have done important interdisciplinary work on this topic as well. I will draw secondary readings from the scholarship of Michele Wucker, Why the Cocks Fight: Dominicans, Haitians and the Fight for Hispaniola, Eugenio Matibag's Haitian and Dominican Counterpoint, Myriam Chancy's From Sugar to Revolution: Women’s Visions of Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic; Pedro L. San Miguel's The Imagined Island: History, Identity, and Utopia in Hispaniola (Latin America in Translation/En Traduccion/Em Traducao). The Tears of Hispaniola: Haitian and Dominican Cultural Memory by Lucía Suárez. I am also using a number of other articles such as Richard Lee Turits  “A World Destroyed, A Nation Imposed: The 1937 Haitian Massacre in the Dominican Republic” that will help to set some of the historical context for this time period. I wish I could have my students attend the Transnational Hispaniola Conference, the first part of which took place in 2012 and is being organized by Rutgers University, but perhaps instead we can get some of the proceedings from the conference.

The journal Meridians has a nice discussion between women writers entitled, Voices from Hispaniola: A Meridians Roundtable with Edwidge Danticat, Loida Maritza Perez, Myriam J. A. Chancy, Nelly Rosario, and Ginetta E. B. Candelario. I am especially thrilled that this year BC is fortunate to have two of these amazing women--Edwidge Danticat and Nelly Rosario--visit campus to give lectures during the academic year. 

I am really excited about embarking on this new teaching experience and look forward to letting you know how it goes this fall!

RMJC

Haitian fiction translated into English

I'd been thinking about doing this post for a while, but there was always another priority on my to-do list. A couple of days ago I finished reading Americanah. I really enjoyed it and it got me thinking about how good it feels to find a book that you can really fall into, whether as an escape or to expand your knowledge.

Books have always had a special place here at Tande. A couple of years ago, we even had a debate about translation, about making works available to Haitian Americans and others who might not be able to read them in the original. So, I thought I'd draw up a quick list. I hope that you'll find the same joy and excitement reading them that I did with Adichie's latest.

Classics:


Jacques Roumain's Masters of the Dew.
For Jacques Stéphen Alexis, both General Sun, My Brother and In the Flicker of an Eyelid are available.
Love, Anger, Madness by Marie Vieux-Chauvet and René Philoctète's Massacre River are both favorites of mine. Although I don't know if the Philoctète, first published in 1989 qualifies as a classic yet. What's the timeframe on that? Oh, and let's add René Depestre's  The Festival of the Greasy Pole.





Contemporary works:

There are actually too many available to name them all. I'll just list a few of my favorites. I actually haven't read any of these translations -- just the originals, so I hope the translations are as good!

An Aroma of Coffee by Dany Laferrière

Children of Heroes by Lyonel Trouillot

Reflections of Loko Miwa by Lilas Desquiron

Two English translations of contemporary novels will be available in the coming weeks -- one set in colonial St. Domingue: Evelyne Trouillot's The Infamous Rosalie, and one set during the tumultuous demonstrations that rocked Port-au-Prince in early 2004: Yanick Lahens' The Colour of Dawn.


Please feel free to add any books I've forgotten. For those who do read French and Creole, are there any works you'd love to see translated into English?

Happy Reading!

NM

Tann pou Tann

Fò n gen kouraj pou n tann!                                                           
-Master Dji

Gen mou ki di se pa lajan ki pi bon mezi pou w evalye valè richès yon moun genyen -- se ta tan pito. Mwen pa ekonomis, men m dakò ak panse sa a. Antanke pwofesè, youn nan moman mwen tann avèk plis enpasyans nan ane a, se vakans twa mwa. Mwen konnen se lè sa a map kapab avanse pi byen nan tout dosye map jere. Toujou gen anpil travay -- e tout travay yo pa peye! -- men kòm mwen pa gen kou pou m fè, mwen pi alèz kan menm.

Mwen pa konn pou nou, men youn nan bagay ki ka fè m pi nève se lè yon moun fè m pèdi tan. Semenn pase a, mwen te al labank pou m al pran yon chekye. Anplis tann mwen oblije tann, mwen pat satisfè ak sèvis mwen resevwa a. M oblije tounen kèk jou apre ak yon moun kap travay labank la pou l ede m -- ede m jwenn chekye pa m mwen fin komande. Ala traka. M pa konn  kòman moun ki pa gen moun kap travay labank fè.

Vandredi ki te 14 jen an, m te al nan Ayiti Deploge ak yon kouzin mwen. Mwen te toujou byen renmen lide dèyè pwogram sa a: fè yon piblik konnen chantè kap parèt pandan yo vin tande atis yo fin apresye yo. Se vre jouswa sa a te gen plizyè chantè enteresan tankou Annie Alerte. Men spektak la ki te dwe kòmanse a 9è kòmanse a 11è. Si se te yon bal, mwen ta konprann, men se te yon spektak. Moun te bouke tann, sitou animatè a te vrèman pale twop. Lè m deside ale, li te preske 2zè, Thierry Cham, ki te envite spesyal la potko janm monte sou sèn lan.

Siman gen moun ki gentan di se konsa bagay yo ye nan domenn mizik la. M pa fin kwè sa. Si se vre, se pa mizik sèlman. Ane sa a, m pat gen tan patisipe nan anpil aktivite Quinzaine du Livre la, men m te asiste detwa kan menm. Konsa, madi 28 me, mwen te al tande Delia Blanco pale sou literati dominiken ak ayisyen nan enstiti franse a. Konferans la komanse ak trant minit reta ki fè, mwen pat ka rete pou m patisipe nan diskisyon ki te suiv konferans la. M te gen kesyon pou m poze, men m pat dispoze plis tan. Pafwa m gen enpresyon oganizatè diferan aktivite yo panse moun pa gen lòt bagay pou yo fè; yo dispoze pase tout apremidi ou a oubyen sware a avèk yo. Ala bèl sa ta bèl si se te vre! M ale nan plizyè kòlòk ki kòmanse anreta oubyen kote prezantatè yo pa vini ditou. Erezman, sa pa rive souvan.

Lotjou m byen sezi, m rive Lekòl Nòmal pou yon reyinyon ki te konvoke a 10è, se mwen sèl ki te la. Li te 10è edmi, reyinyon an potko  kòmanse. Mwen deside pa rete. Lè pou m deplase, te gen yon machin ki te pake dèyè pa m la. Avèk tan m pase pou m desann lavil epi pou m remonte, m pèdi preske twazèdtan antou.

Donk, lè m fin plenyen tout plenyen sa yo, nou ka mande ki pwojè mwen genyen pou vakans lan ki fè m ap veye tan an konsa. M gen liv mwen kòmanse li kèk jou, m poko fini: Cathédrale du mois d’août epi Absences sans frontières. Mwen bezwen li liv nouvèl Louis-Philippe Dalmebert la tou. Mwen toujou ap chèche nouvèl pou kou sou jan sa a m ap anseye Lekòl Nòmal depi preske 10zan!

Anplis liv pou m li, m gen pwojè. M ap travay sou yon liv Haiti Reader avek 4 kolèg nan 4 inivèsite diferan. Mwen gen plizye dosye pou m prepare pou ile en ile ak pwojè tradiksyon. Anplis kowdòinsasyon seksyon not lekti nan Journal of Haitian Studies.

Donk m pa panse m ap gen anpil tan lib pandan ete a, men m ap kapab jere sa m genyen an jan m vle. Se deja pa mal.



NM

Roots of Liberty

Last month I had the pleasure of seeing the play, "Roots of Liberty: The Haitian Revolution and the American Civil War" at Tremont Baptist Church here in Boston.  The venue was historically significant because this is where the Emancipation Proclamation was publicly read in Boston in 1863. The play was part of "Freedom Rising" a three day series of events to celebrate the commemoration of the 150^th year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The play was presented by Underground Railway Theater Company and directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian. It was written by Natalia Naman (with contributions by Edwidge Danticat). The play included historical speeches and letters such as the well known one in which Louverture uses the phrase upon which the title is based. "In overthrowing me you have only cut down the trunk of liberty; it will spring up again from the roots, for they are many, and they are deep."

The play relates the intertwined histories of these wars and the special role that the Haitian Revolution occupies in the African-American imagination.  The story begins with a high school girl, Cécile (named for Cécile Fatima) assigned to do a report on a historical hero for her American history class and is encouraged by her father to consider writing about Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution.  She chooses Louverture only to be told by her history teacher that he is neither in the textbooks nor on the MCAS which is the state exam for public schools. Determined to prove Toussaint Louverture’s relevance to the US Civil War, Cécile goes on a dream like journey in which historical figures come to life.  She encounters Wendell Phillips, Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison and eventually Louverture himself. 

To be completely honest, I had my reservations about the play before seeing it.  Especially after a friend told me about the plan to have Toussaint present as a larger than life puppet in the stage.  But my doubts were quickly put to rest almost as soon as I arrived in the theater. The puppet did not look out of place or cartoonish, only like a giant painting. The incorporation of music by Kera Washington, a well known percussionist with years of experience working in Haiti and with Haitian rhythms, and dance by the talented Jean Appolon dance troupe was especially effective and entertaining. 

 

The cast was made up of mostly local actors from the Underground Railway, but at the end Danny Glover made a surprise appearance in the role of Toussaint Louverture. When the pageant/performance concluded, special guest Edwidge Danticat joined Danny Glover on stage for a panel moderated by Henry Louis Gates.  This was one of my favorite parts of the event. Danticat was fabulous as always and handled Gates' questions with her characteristic grace, understated brilliance and depth of knowledge.  Glover shared about his fascination with Haiti and the long journey to make the film he is producing about the Haitian Revolution.

All in all this was a wonderful event.  I was especially glad to be able to attend with my family.  My sons, both of whom are named after historic Haitian heroes, were so excited to see the dancing, hear the drumming, and learn more about the Toussaint they had only seen in paintings.  Of course my older son wanted to know when Dessalines was going to appear, which unfortunately he did not, so I promised him we would go see another play about the second half of the Haitian Revolution. Any ideas on where to find that?

RMJC

                                                               

A la rencontre de la poésie

Du 2 au 4 mai dernier s'est tenu à Port-au-Prince un colloque international sur la poésie: La poésie haïtienne dans le contexte latino-américain et caribéen -- La Place de Georges Castera fils. J'entends souvent les gens se plaindre du manque d'activités culturelles dans la ville. J'avoue que je ne comprends pas trop de quoi ils parlent. Il me semble ne jamais avoir assez de temps pour assister à tout ce qui est offert -- surtout quand on tient compte des embouteillages! Ainsi, les Rencontres Québécoises (ne serait-ce pas plutôt Rencontres Haïtiano-Québécoises?) se sont déroulées durant les mêmes jours que le colloque Castera, comme je l'appelle. J'ai donc seulement pu assisté à un seul des panels qui se sont organisés dans le cadre de ces Rencontres, celui sur la littérature jeunesse. Panel fort intéressant d'ailleurs, qui m'a donné envie d'aller à la découverte des livres de Sonia K. Laflamme, surtout. Il parait qu'elle écrit des romans policiers et on ne peut jamais en avoir trop.

Par contre, j'ai assisté a tous les panels à l'exception d'un seul du colloque Castera (il fallait bien consacrer un peu de temps à ma fille!) et vous livre donc quelques impressions. Impressions pas du tout objectives, d'ailleurs, étant donné que j'étais membre du comité scientifique et ai aussi participé a quelques-unes des réunions d'organisation en plus d’être parmi les intervenants. 

La cérémonie inaugurale a eu lieu dans la soirée du mercredi 2 dans une ambiance chaude et chaleureuse! Les discours de circonstance ont été prononcés par Dominique H. Riboul de la Fondation Culture Création, l'institution organisatrice, Fritz Deshommes de l'UEH et Jacky Lumarque de l'UniQ, les deux universités associées au colloque. On a eu droit à d'excellentes prestations de Tamara Suffren et Boulo Valcourt. Pierre Brisson et Georges Castera ont lu des poèmes, en faisant alterner humour et gravité. 

L'aspect scientifique du colloque a commencé jeudi matin à l'Ecole Normale Supérieure. Joel Des Rosiers était le conférencier invité et a évoqué le style tardif. Un débat passionné a suivi cette première séance qui comprenait aussi un panel constitué par Christiane Ndiaye et Renauld Govain. Il y avait moins de monde à la séance de l'après-midi à la Faculté d'Ethnologie. Etant malade, Gary Augustin n'a pas pu venir, ce qui était dommage. Les dessins de Georges Castera constituent une partie de son oeuvre dont on ne parle pas assez. Pour ma part, j'ai évoqué un autre aspect plutôt méconnu de l'oeuvre de Castera, ses textes critiques. 

assistance le vendredi matin

Les séances du vendredi se sont déroulées à l'Université Quisqueya. En tant que conférencier invité Roger Toumson a évoqué les différentes correspondances existant entre différents artistes caribéens et a surtout Aimé Césaire. Lors de la séance de l'après-midi, un des intervenants n'est pas venu et le deuxième était en retard. Mais Georges a pris la parole, en parlant un peu de son travail poétique et en répondant à des questions du public, donc on était quand même gâtés!

Dans la soirée du 3 mai, on a eu droit à un Vendredi littéraire spécial dont Georges Castera était l'invité d'honneur. Plusieurs participants des Rencontres Québécoises y étaient aussi et ont partagé leurs textes avec l'assistance. Pierre Nepveu, Elise Turcotte et André Roy, par exemple. Wooly St. Louis Jean a interprété plusieurs textes de Castera mis en musique par lui ou d'autres musiciens. Pierre Brisson nous a encore gratifié de sa lecture de quelques poèmes. Les nombreux enfants du quartier constituent aussi une présence à signaler! 

Les trois interventions du samedi matin à la Faculté de Linguistique Appliquée ont offert des éclairages différents sur la poésie de Castera. Il y a eu aussi débat sur les termes utilisés entre littéraires et linguistes. En général, la discussion a donné raison au conférencier invité Claude Pierre quand il évoquait la polysémie du texte en partant d'une toute nouvelle publication de Castera: Sodo. L'intervention de Bonel Auguste sur le poids de Georges Castera sur les autres poètes a interpellé plusieurs personnes dans la salle. 

C. Ndiaye

En général, les discussions ont été animées tout au long du colloque avec des questions sur l'élitisme de la poésie, sur le statut du créole, sur la religion... Les différentes remarques de Christiane Ndiaye et Roger Toumson ont bien enrichi les différents débats, chacun de leur manière. Plusieurs participants de pays étrangers ont exprimé leur surprise de voir tant de personnes assister à un colloque sur la poésie et en plus prendre la parole sans être intimidés par les éminents chercheurs et écrivains dans la salle. Pour moi, c'est tout à fait normal et c'est tant mieux. 

R. Toumson

Le colloque m'a donné l'occasion de visiter différents établissements d'enseignement supérieur de Port-au-Prince affectés par le séisme du 12 janvier 2010. C'est réjouissant de les voir se remettre tant bien que mal et de constater la vivacité de la vie intellectuelle qui s'y trouve.  Mais c'était aussi triste pour moi de confirmer que l'état de l'ENS est bien lamentable par rapport aux autres facultés.

Voilà, j'espère que ces quelques impressions sur le colloque Castera pourront intéresser ceux qui n'ont pas eu la chance d'y assister en attendant la publication des Actes du Colloque. Si jamais d'autres participants veulent ajouter leurs commentaires ou rappeler ce que j'ai pu oublier, vous êtes les bienvenus!  Si vous avez des photos, ce serait encore mieux! 

Pour ceux qui persistent à dire qu'il n'y a rien à faire dans la ville, je vous donne quelques liens à consulter de temps à autre, et n'oubliez pas notre calendrier à nous: FOKAL, Institut Français d'Haiti, Centre Culturel Anne-Marie Morisset, Manman Pemba. 

NM

Yari Yari Ntoaso

Next month a huge literary/cultural event is taking place that is neither based in Haiti, nor exclusively about Haiti, but will feature several of our own brilliant writers and performers.  This year's Yari Yari Ntoaso women writers conference will take place May 16^th-19^th in Accra, Ghana. 

Yari Yari is a significant and dynamic conference for women writers of Africa and the diaspora.  An international symposium of women writers--it is simply without parallel.  This year's theme "Continuing the Dialogue" recognizes the huge impact made by women writers all over the world while acknowledging the work still left to be done and emphasizing as Yari Yari does, the importance of solidarity and collaboration in creative work.

The event is sponsored by institutions like the Organization of Women Writers (OWWA) and co-sponsored by New York University.  OWWA was founded in 1991, by African-American poet-activist Jayne Cortez and Ghanaian author Ama Ata Aidoo.The first Yari Yari was held several years later in 1997 then again in 2004.  I had the honor of attending Yari Yari Pamberi in New York in 2004 (almost a decade ago!) where I experienced the matchless energy, inspiration and encouragement that make it such a unique conference. 

This year's Haitian contingent is made up of our very own writer Evelyne Trouillot, performance artist Gabrielle Civil and scholar-artist-activist Gina Ulysse.  Each of these powerhouses will certainly bring their own unique spirit and creativity to the wonderful space that is Yari Yari and I cannot wait to hear about their time there!

Even if you cannot be in attendance you can learn more about Yari Yari and support this project by clicking here. 

RMJC