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EdwidgeDanticat21.pptxEdwidge Danticat
Kiona Reid
Edwidge Danticat
Haitian- American
Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and moved to Brooklyn, NY at 12
Began writing at 9
First essay published at 14
BA in French Literature at Barnard College
MFA in Creative Writing at Brown University
Has received awards from Seventeen magazine and Essence
2009 MacArthur Fellow Recipient
Parents
Moved to New York to help start their family’s new life when Edwidge was four
At that time in Haiti, Francois Duvalier was president from 1957 to 1971 and were trying to also isolate Haiti from the world
Her parents escaped to the US, while she and her younger brother stayed in Haiti and were raised by their aunt and uncle
Her parent’s goal for her was to go into the medical field, but Danticat knew that her passion was for writing
Family Life
Edwidge is happily married with two daughters, Mira and Leila
She frequently visits Haiti and still considers it as her home
In an interview Edwidge stated “While I have left Haiti, it’s never left me.”
She has a lot of family who currently live in Haiti that she still visits
The Farming of Bones
Oprah added this novel to her book club (1998)
Won a 1998 American Book Award
Addresses racism,
Setting & Plot
1937 in Dominican Republic
A young girl, Amabelle, orphaned and abandoned at 8 was taken in by Don Ignacio
During the massacre, she got separated from her lover, Sebastien
She battles with nightmares from her childhood and endures dangerous obstacles
She works for him as a midwife
Amabelle
Protagonist
Story is told from her point of view
At 8, she watched her parents drown in a river
She was rescued by Don Ignacio and taken in by his family
She worked for his daughter as a midwife
Her parents death weighed down on her throughout the story because it was a very traumatizing experience
Throughout the story Amabelle is looking for her lover Sebastien
When she was 8, she watched her parents drown in a river.
Central Themes
She uses her own personal life experiences as inspiration for her characters
The themes in Danticat’s novels tend to involve separation of family, loss, mother-daughter relationships, assimilation, and migration
The female characters are usually haunted by their past and struggle to adapt to their new beginnings
Breath, Eyes, Memory
Published at 25
Based on a young girl, Sophie, who moves from the fictional Croix-des-Rosets to Brooklyn
Novel broken into four parts that emphasize different times in her life
Living in Haiti without her parents
Moving to New York to live with her parents
Going to Haiti to clear her mind and going back again to bury her mother
Danticat is able to address many complex issues such as nationality, feminism, and family
Other Novels from Danticat
Works Cited
Adisa, Opal Palmer. “Up Close and Personal: Edwidge Danticat on Haitian Identity and the Writer's Life.” Oral History Review, Oxford University Press, 23 Sept. 2011, muse.jhu.edu/article/450908/summary.
“Edwidge Danticat Biography.” Encyclopedia of World Biography, Advameg, Inc., www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2005
-A-Fi/Danticat-Edwidge.html.
“Haiti's Storyteller.” Brown Alumni Magazine, www.brownalumnimagazine.com/articles/2011-01-06/haitis-storyteller.
