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by writers and poets who live in Haiti or its diaspora. It brings together
different genres, generations, and languages (Creole, English,
french). Some of the writers included are well known, but this anthology
also introduces a new generation of Haitian writers whose
remarkable talent gives an idea of the richness of contemporary Haitian
culture and literature.
Haitian literature is indeed a very well-kept secret. Since its independence
in 1804, Haiti has produced a vibrant, world-class literature
that deserves to be recognized globally. The better known contemporary
writers in the collection include Edwidge Danticat, who has
shared her love for Haiti and its people with great discernment since
the earthquake. “Haiti: Bloodied, Shaken—and Beloved” appeared
immediately after the terre tremblé in The Miami Herald, and evokes
the period of uncertainty, with its hopes and anguish. She has since
written movingly in her most recent book of essays, Create Dangerously,
about her losses, and more recently, in The New Yorker, about
the mourning of the dead and the release of their souls, a year and
a day after the earthquake. Others are known in translation, for instance
Lyonel Trouillot, novelist and poet (Street of Lost Footsteps and
Children of Heroes). Three books of short stories by Yanick Lahens
have been recently collected and translated by Betty Wilson as Aunt
Résia and the Spirits and Other Stories.
Authors such as Trouillot and Lahens may be more familiar to francophone
readers, as they were among those Haitian writers whose
voices were heard in the days after the earthquake in french dailies,
weekly magazines, and on french literary and humanitarian
TV shows. But the majority of writers who wrote the moving poems
and short prose in this anthology represent voices that are not well
known in the West, even though each of them has already published
novels, short stories and poetry in french or in Creole and is well
known among Haitians. They have received prizes and awards for
their work, and writing is their daily labor of love. It is a privilege
to introduce their writing to a wider audience concerned with Haiti
and Haitian culture, as each poet and writer shares with the readers
a profound and intimate connection to the country.
Vitiello / Introduction
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