Tuesday, March 05, 2002
Acclaimed Haitian author to read, lecture at Goshen College March 15
“When you write, it’s like braiding your hair. Taking a handful of coarse unruly strands and attempting to bring them to unity. … Some of the braids are long, others are short. Some are thick, others are thin. Some are heavy. Others are light.”
– Edwidge Danticat, “Krik? Krak!”
GOSHEN, Ind. — Haitian storyteller Edwidge Danticat will offer a reading of her work at 10 a.m. in the Church-Chapel as part of the S.A. Yoder Lecture Series; a reception and book signing will follow.
Oprah Winfrey selected Danticat’s “Breath, Eyes, Memory” for her book club in 2000. The Haitian-American writer that calls herself a “weaver of tales” also wrote “The Farming of Bones” and “Krik? Krak!,” the latter a short story collection nominated for the National Book Award. She is currently working on an anthology of Haitian American writing.
Ann Hostetler, Goshen College associate professor of English, said Danticat’s writing is intensely focused on issues of cultural transition and identity. Random House calls her “a writer who evokes the wonder, terror, and heartache of her native Haiti – and the enduring strength of Haiti’s women – with a vibrant imagery and narrative grace that bear witness to her people’s suffering and courage.”
“Krik? Krak!” besides being the title of her book, is a ritual question and answer that begins a storytelling session in Haiti. With this as a beginning, Danticat creates subtle yet strong narratives that paint pictures of her homeland as well as reflect her experience as an immigrant to the U.S., where she moved at the age of 12 and quickly discovered she did not fit in, because of her clothes and her French Creole accent. Julia Alvarez said Danticat’s writing has “quiet power and magic.”
Danticat herself said, of writing, "When we tell stories, or when we try to verbalize our experiences, we take our paths towards understanding."
Danticat also will be a guest in a 3 p.m. International Literature class.
The S.A. Yoder Lecture Series honors Dr. Samuel A. Yoder, a professor at GC from 1930 to 1935 and again from 1946 until his death in 1970. During his career, he was a Fulbright lecturer at Anatolia College in Greece, Smith-Mundt lecturer at the University of Hue in Vietnam, visiting professor at Taiwan University in Formosa, welfare officer under the United Nations in Egypt and GC Study-Service Term leader in Jamaica. Gifts to the series by his students and friends have made the endowed lecture possible.
Previous lecturers have included Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney, Newberry Award winner Madeleine L’Engle, humorist Garrison Keillor and late American poet Denise Levertov.
Friends of Haiti SST are particularly invited to attend the day’s events. The lecture is free. The Church-Chapel is accessible to people using wheelchairs and others with physical limitations.
Goshen College is a national liberal arts college known for leadership in international education, service-learning and peace and justice issues in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program and exceptional educational value, GC serves about 1,000 students in both traditional and nontraditional programs. The college earned citations of excellence among U.S. News & World Report, Yahoo! and Barron’s Best Buys in Higher Education. For more information, visit http://www.goshen.edu/.
Editors: For information, contact Ryan Miller at (574) 535-7572 or ryanlm@goshen.edu.
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