After the Dance: A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti (Updated)

After the Dance: A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti (Updated)
ISBN-10
1101872926
ISBN-13
9781101872925
Series
After The Dance
Category
Travel
Pages
117
Language
English
Published
2015-04-28
Publisher
Vintage
Author
Edwidge Danticat

Description

In After the Dance, one of Haiti’s most renowned daughters returns to her homeland, taking readers on a stunning, exquisitely rendered journey beyond the hedonistic surface of 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. She spends the week before Carnival in the area around Jacmel, exploring the rolling hills and lush forests and meeting the people who live and die in them. 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. It’s also a wonderful introduction to Haiti’s southern coast and to the true beauty of Carnival.

Other editions

Similar books

  • Knoxville, Tennessee: A Mountain City in the New South
    By William Bruce Wheeler

    In the early 1970s the Boeing Corporation had sent planners to the region for the purpose of building a new city , to be named Timberlake , near the Tellico ...

  • Britannia in Brief: The Scoop on All Things British
    By Leslie Banker, William Mullins

    Robbie Williams Like Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams got his start in a boy band then parlayed that success into something much bigger.

  • New England, 1999
    By Wayne Curtis, Herbert B. Livesey, Marie Morris

    Frost lived in a cabin on a farm across the road for 23 summers . ... but it's also open to the public at rates of about half what you'd pay at Killington .

  • Frommer's New England 2003
    By Wayne Curtis, Marie Morris, Laura M. Reckford

    You'll never fall into the tourist traps when you travel with Frommer's. It's like having a friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. Our expert...

  • Frommer's? New England 2002
    By Wayne Curtis, Marie Morris, Laura M. Reckford

    "Using the expertise of knowledgeable travel writers and editors, Frommer's New England is stuffed like a turkey, with slivers of information spilling out as soon as you open the cover.Even...

  • The Rough Guide to Peru
    By Sara Humphreys, Steph Dyson, Todd Obolsky

    S/620 01 446 9414, HI Hostel Lima Casimiro Ulloa 328 hihostels.com; map. A great deal, this is the top-rated HI hostel in the capital.

  • Chicago - Frommer's Travel Guides
    By Todd A. Savage

    The most authoritative, easy-to-use guide a traveller can buy

  • French By Heart: An American Family's Adventures in La Belle France
    By Rebecca S. Ramsey

    In a year or so, y'a.ll will move back home andTodd'll buy you some big house in Crawford Creek and you're ... But what is the deal with hotel rooms here?

  • Sons of Thunder
    By James Timberlake

    Book One: Sons of Thunder is the first of two books based on one summers 2000 mile trek across southern Europe.

  • Food Artisans of Alberta: Your Trail Guide to the Best Locally Crafted Fare
    By Karen Anderson, Matilde Sanchez-Turri

    Owners J.P. Fortin and Danielle Black Fortin have a base camp and café in Capstone at Riverlands in Red Deer. Check them out at pursuitadventures.ca.