Women Who Write: Edwidge Danticat

A couple of days ago, I blogged about one of my favorite Haitian authors, Edwidge Danticat and one of my favorite books written by her. If you haven't read anything by Edwidge Danticat, you might want to check out the post that I wrote about her book "The Farming of Bones". Today is Danticat's birthday, so in honor of her special day I figured that I would write a little about her life and work.

Edwidge Danticat was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 19, 1969. When she was two years old her father immigrated to New York City as a result of the political situation in Haiti. When she was four years old her mother also immigrated to New York, leaving Edwidge and her younger brother in Haiti with an aunt and uncle. Edwidge later immigrated to Brooklyn, New York when she was twelve years old.

Danticat later attended Barnard College and received a BA in French Literature. In 1993 she received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Brown University. In 1994, she wrote "Breath, Eyes, Memory", a novel about a twelve year old Haitian girl who immigrated to the United States to reunite with her family. Breath, Eyes, Memory later became an Oprah book club selection in 1998.

Edwidge Danticat is the first black Haitian female who has written in English, as well as to have been published by a major publishing house. Danticat's novels address issues of immigration, transnationalism, political turmoil, oppression of women, and other similar topics.  Her books have been published into over ten languages worldwide, and have won various awards. In 2009 Danticat was the recipient of the MacArthur Genius Award.

Books By Edwidge Danticat:

Breath, Eyes, Memory (1994)

Krik? Krak! (1996)

The Farming of Bones (1998)

Behind the Mountains (2002, young adult)

The Dew Breaker (2004)

Anacaona, Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490 (2005, young adult)

Brother, I'm Dying (2007)

edwidge danticat book, haitian author edwidge danticat, breath eyes memory, the farming of bones

Bad Ass Authors: Edwidge Danticat

Over the past couple of days, I've been watching the news about the earthquake in Haiti. I honestly haven't studied much about Haiti, but thinking so much about Haiti has brought to mind one of my favorite authors, the Haitian immigrant Edwidge Danticat. After reading many of her novels years ago, I always wanted to read and learn more about the history as well as the economic and political plight of the Haitian people as well as Haitian immigrants to the US.

I would have to say that my favorite novel of all time would be Edwidge Danticat's novel, The Farming of Bones. The novel is so devastating, horrific, and heart-wrenching. The novel details the life of a female Haitian servant who is living and working in the Dominican Republic during the Trujillo dictatorship. A summary of the book would definitely do no justice to it, so I won't even bother with an elaborate summary. In a nutshell, the book describes the devastating genocide that happened to Haitians in the Dominican Republic through the lens of a female Haitian who is in love and eventually is forced to escape back to Haiti in the wake of genocide.

I'm one cold-hearted bitch, but this book has probably been one of the most devastating books that I have ever read. I can remember reading it all in one setting and staying up throughout the wee hours of the night, calling in sick the next day because I was so spellbound with the book.

Every single one of Danticat's book is wonderful in its own unique way and I have been dying for her to release another.

I first came upon her when I saw her book Breath, Eyes, Memory on the Oprah show years back. I graduated to Krik? Krack!which I equally loved. Her books discuss issues with women, political and economic oppression through oppressive regimes, and issues of immigration. Every single book of hers speaks to my soul.

If you are a lover of books and you have not read one of Danticat's books, please do so. In the meantime, I think it's time for me to research some books and dig into Haiti's history, which I have been meaning to do for a long time. While I'm doing that, get off your ass and check out Edwidge Danticat's books by clicking here.



Have you read a book by Edwidge Danticat? What are your views of her work?