Cynthia and I were booth buddies at the recent Sunshine State Book Festival. When she said she was giving away a few copies of her latest book, I snatched one up and begged her to sign it. When Cynthia said she was writing stories about Haiti, I really didn’t know what to expect, though … More J. Elliott Reviews “Mangoes & Roosters: Stories and Tales of Haiti”
Ever since colonial days, when France claimed it as her own, Haiti carried within it an aura of the unknown and the mysterious. Once called the “Pearl of the Antilles,” Haiti became for a time the largest sugar producing region in the world, thanks to plantations populated by thousands of enslaved Africans, who rose … More Announcing “Mangoes & Roosters: Stories and Tales from Haiti” – and Other News
Haiti, it is said, is the place to discover how much can be done with little. ~ Wade Davis Like Julia Child with her sole meunière at La Coronne in Rouen, I remember the first meal I ate in Haiti. Flickering lights in the darkness below outlined the curves of Port-au-Prince, a … More Epis, the Haitian Condiment You Never Knew You Needed
Easter traditions in Haiti include kite flying, rara bands, and food. Soaring in the wind, simple, colorful kites express the longing to transcend the quotidian. And rara brings music, tapped out on metal instruments, many rough and angular, hewn from scraps of metal and old oil drums. As for food, Haitian Poisson gros sel (Rock … More Flying Kites, Rara Bands, and Poisson Gros Sel: Easter Season in Haiti
Uniformed men on horseback, lassos at the ready, chase brown and black people stumbling in the surging water of the Rio Grande near Del Rio, Texas. The photographs shock. They call up long-buried images. Of the Ku Klux Klan night riding. Of patrollers chasing runaway slaves. Of Native Americans and the U.S. Cavalry at Wounded … More On the Borderlands
Haiti is NOT a shithole, Mr. Trump. I should know about that. I lived in Haiti for nearly three years. And you, you’ve never even been there. And yet, here you are again, saying something insulting and derogatory, knowing nothing about what you’re talking about. Yes, I’m talking about your woefully ignorant comments about “shithole … More Haiti is NOT a Shithole, Mr. Trump
In March 2011, Japan suffered an 8.9 earthquake, a magnitude not often experienced. While the massive earthquake last year in Haiti was less on the Richter scale, it nonetheless did terrible damage that is still not wholly cleaned up. The gruesome scenes from Japan turned my mind back to Haiti. In Haiti, the tragic earthquake … More Remembering Haiti Post-Carnival (Kanaval)
[A picture, and nothing more, for silent contemplation.]