After The Dance: A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti

(Paperback)

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A stunning, exquisitely rendered journey beyond the hedonistic surface of Haiti's Carnival and into its deep heart. Edwidge Danticat had long been scared off from Carnival by a loved one, who spun tales of people dislocating hips from gyrating with too much abandon, losing their voices from singing too loudly, going deaf from the clamor of immense speakers, and being punched, stabbed, pummeled, or fondled by other lustful revelers. Now an adult, she resolves to return and exorcise her Carnival demons.During her journeys she traces the heroic and tragic history of the island, from French colonists and Haitian revolutionaries to American invaders and home-grown dictators. Danticat also introduces us to many of the performers, artists, and organizers who re-create the myths and legends that bring the Carnival festivities to life. When Carnival arrives, we watch as she goes from observer to participant and finally loses herself in the overwhelming embrace of the crowd.Part travelogue, part memoir, this is a lyrical narrative of a writer rediscovering her country along with a part of herself.

Reviews

The young Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat has given the world honest and loving portraits of Haitian people, both on the island and in the United States * Boston Globe *
Ms. Danticat has dared to probe into some of the most painful and hidden Haitian traditions * New York Times *
This gem of lyrical reportage takes Danticat from behind a "mask of distant observer" into the heart of a "massive stream of joy", filling in the history and folklore behind the steamy surface -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *
Danticat has fathomless respect for her culture and reveals less of the fearfulness than the love in it * Independent *

Author Bio

EDWIDGE DANTICAT is the author of Breath, Eyes, Memory; Krik Krak!; The Farming of Bones; and Behind the Mountains, a young adult novel; The Dew Breaker and Anacaona. She is also the editor of The Butterfly's Way- Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora in the United States and The Beacon Best of 2000- Great Writing by Women and Men of All Colors and Cultures.