Hatian Political History Has Showed So Much Instability

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We started as a country with everything against us, right there. Aten revolution was an impossibility to so many people. So we were set up for the way to fail. Enslave people starting ther own country was not meant to exist. It's n a lot of people have said it iny stories,. And i think to this day, hades being told, how dare you? I mean, we've had our part where people who have decided to turn against their own but it's also something that has been set up to failed....

Edwidge Danticat left Haiti when she was 12, she says, but Haiti never left her. At 14 she began writing stories about the people and culture she loved, and now is an internationally acclaimed novelist and short story writer as well a MacArthur Genius Fellow. Rather than holding herself out as an expert or sociologist on Haiti, she seeks to treat her characters and culture with nuance and show the beauty and complexity of the place she calls home.

She joined Tyler to discuss the reasons Haitian identity and culture will likely persist in America, the vibrant Haitian art scenes, why Haiti has the best food in the Caribbean, how radio is remaining central to Haitian politics, why teaching in Creole would improve Haitian schools, what’s special about the painted tap-taps, how tourism influenced Haitian art, working with Jonathan Demme, how the CDC destroyed the Haitian tourism industry, her perspective on the Black Lives Matter movement, why she writes better at night, the hard lessons of Haiti’s political history, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.

Recorded September 18th, 2020 Other ways to connect

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