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Archive for the ‘Literature’ Category
08.10.11
Photo Credit: Tequila Minsky
On July 27th, HCX and its members and friends met at Colors Restaurant in Manhattan for our monthly An n’ Pale | Café Conversations. The room buzzed as we ordered off the interesting happy hour menu and awaited the start of the evening. In the corner booth, sitting inconspicuously next to a pile of books for sale was our featured guest. Hervé Lemoine is a very interesting character. His pepper grey hair and long, quiet smile give him an air of thoughtfulness, but his ideas expose a person and a people torn by the conflicting and lost stories of Haiti. Lemoine’s book, Face à Face autour de l’Identite Haïtienne (2009), created a startling and controversial image of the modern Haitian.
“You are Haitian if Haiti is in you.” Lemoine pointed to the ability and the necessity for Haitian culture to be taught. The resulting value of these lessons and appreciation of the culture becomes “Haitian-ness.” In this way, Haiti isn’t necessarily a birthright or a title to bestowed, it becomes a mentality.
But the internal conflicts of this mentality as a result of French colonial rule and the remnants of a plantation system that was later perpetuated by Haitian culture has created the walking contradiction that Hervé eventually realizes himself as.
Commentary on his medium language of choice was particularly interesting. When asked why, if the book was written for Haitians and to Haitians, was it written in French, a language that alienates the entirety of Haiti’s large illiterate population and distances others who speak little or no French. Lemoine viewed this as a battle of propriety. Admitting that the intellectual community in Haiti feels uncomfortable writing and even reading Kreyol, it didn’t seem to make sense to express his ideas in a language that didn’t offer him real access to his target audience.
From what I have read so far, Hervé’s writing is interesting and political as it delves into the depths of identity search. There is a tone of anger and urgency in Lemoine’s writing and occasionally voice. But one that seems to seek out the chaff in hopes of burning it away and leaving the kernel of truth so that it might grow into something substantive, powerful, and decidedly Haitian at heart.
Check out a photo archive of the event here. Photos courtesy of the fantastic Tequila Minsky.
Posted in Archive, Literature, Public Forums | No Comments »
03.08.11
During the months of February and March, HCX collaborated with MoCADA on two events from the “Re-Imagining Haiti” exhibit at MoCADA.
During the first event on February 23rd, Haiti Cultural Exchange co-presented with MoCADA to host Literary Salon: featuring Haiti Noir by Edwidge Danticat. The new anthology is a powerful collection of stories and folklore brought together by the award-winning Haitian-American author, Edwidge Danticat. A few of the contributing authors, Ibi Aanu Zoboi, Josaphat-Robert Large, Katia D. Ulysse and Marie Lily Cerat were able to read from the book and speak about their work in relation to the idea of “re-imagining” Haiti.
On March 3rd, HCX co-presented again with MoCADA for Cinematheque: Re-Imagining Haiti. The event hosted a screening of two films to highlight the work of exhibiting artists, Michele Stephenson’s, One Day, One Destiny (2010) and The Other Side of the Water (2009) by Jeremy Robins and Magali Damas. The filmmakers were on-site for a post-screening discussion.
Posted in Archive, HCX Collaborations, Literature, Uncategorized | No Comments »
03.01.11
On February 25th 2011, our An n’ Pale | Café Conversation featured scholar on Haitian history and culture, Millery Polyné. Polyné is an Assistant Professor of American Studies at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. A graduate of Morehouse College and the University of Michigan (PhD History), Millery is the author of From Douglass to Duvalier: U.S. African Americans, Haiti and Pan Americanism, 1870-1964 (University Press of Florida, 2010). A historian by training, Millery’s interests also focus on poetry and film. He is a 2003 recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Poetry Fellowship and the author of Release: Race, Love, Jazz (2003). Currently, he is working on two books, A Better Destiny: Human Rights, Caribbean Exiles and Dictatorship during the Cold War and Boston’s Burden: Race and Urban Memory in the Twentieth Century, in addition to a documentary film on François Duvalier titled Papa Doc.
Polyné read excerpts from “To Carry the Dance of the People Beyond” a chapter in his most recently published book, Douglass to Duvalier: U.S. African Americans, Haiti and Pan Americanism, 1870-1964. The discussion that followed delved into the the significance of vaudou in Haitian culture as both a religion and a cultural representation and how it influences Haitian folkloric dance. Our discussion hinged on the understanding of Haitian folkloric dance as a derivative of Haitian vaudou practice ceremonies and incited questions about the effects of the development of Haitian dance as a misrepresentation of authenticity when contrasted with its religious roots.
The discussion was followed by a lively and soulful performance by Obed Jean-Louis and the vibe was decidedly relaxed as Millery, Obed and guests chatted and mingled at the beautiful space provided for us by Renaissance Fine Arts.
If you missed our event and would like to know more about Millery Polyné’s new book, check out a review of “From Douglass to Duvalier” here.
Posted in Archive, Arts, HCX Programs, Literature, Music, Public Forums | No Comments »
03.01.11
Literary Salon: featuring Haiti Noir
On Wednesday, February 23rd, HCX and MoCADA co-presented a literary salon featuring the new anthology entitled, Haiti Noir (Akashic Books, 2010). The publication is a powerful collection of stories and folklore brought together by the award-winning Haitian-American author, Edwidge Danticat.
A few of the contributing authors, Ibi Aanu Zoboi, Josaphat-Robert Large, Katia D. Ulysse and Marie Lily Cera read from the book and spoke about their work in relation to the idea of “re-imagining” Haiti. The event included a book signing at the conclusion of the evening.
Posted in Archive, Events, HCX Collaborations, Literature, New Work | No Comments »