What is Haiti Noir about?
Edwidge Danticat answered 15 questions for Akashic’s Literary Lions feature. Read her answers here.
Read Edwidge Danticat’s contribution to “My Caribbean – 5 Vignettes,” which appeared in the November 10, 2013 issue of the New York Times.
Read “The Rainbow’s End” by M.J. Fievre, featured as part of Akashic’s celebration of Short Story Month 2013.
Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.
Brand-new stories by: Edwidge Danticat, Rodney Saint-Éloi, Madison Smartt Bell, Gary Victor, M.J. Fievre, Mark Kurlansky, Marvin Victor, Josaphat-Robert Large, Marie Lily Cerat, Yanick Lahens, Louis-Philippe Dalembert, Kettly Mars, Marie Ketsia Theodore-Pharel, Evelyne Trouillot, Katia D. Ulysse, Ibi Aanu Zoboi, Nadine Pinede, and Patrick Sylvain.
From the introduction by Edwidge Danticat:
“I began working on this anthology about a year before January 12, 2010, when Haiti was struck by its worst natural disaster in over two hundred years. The world knows now that more than two hundred thousand people died and over a million lost their homes in Haiti’s capital and the surrounding cities of Léogâne, Petit–Goâve, and Jacmel. As I am writing these words, survivors remain huddled by the thousands in displacement camps, most shielding themselves from intermittent rain with nothing but wooden posts and bedsheets.
Even before the earthquake, life was not easy in Haiti. There was always the risk of dying from hunger, an infectious disease, a natural disaster, or a crime. But there was also hope, laughter, and boundless creativity. Haitian creativity has always been one of the country’s most identifiable survival traits. Whether expressed in vibrant and colorful paintings, double entendre–filled spiritual or party music, or the poignant, humorous, erotic, lyrical (and yes, also dark) short stories and novels of its writers, Haiti’s more nuanced and complex face often comes across in its arts . . .
I can honestly say that, in spite of the difficult circumstances in Haiti right now, I have never felt a greater sense of joy working on any collective project than I have on this book.“
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I: Which Noir?
“Odette” by Patrick Sylvain (Christ-Roi)
“The Rainbow’s End” by M.J. Fievre (Kenscoff)
“The Finger” by Gary Victor (Port-au-Prince)
“Paradise Inn” by Kettly Mars (Gokal)
“Which One?” by Evelyne Trouillot (Lalue)
“Twenty Dollars” by Madison Smartt Bell (Morne du Cap)
Part II: Noir Crossroads
“Claire of the Sea Light” by Edwidge Danticat (Ville Rose)
“The Harem” by Ibi Aanu Zoboi (Delmas)
“Rosanna” by Josaphat-Robert Large (Pacot)
“Maloulou” by Marie Lily Cerat (Martissant)
“Dangerous Crossroads” by Louis-Philippe Dalembert (Pétionville)
“Blues for Irène” by Marvin Victor (Carrefour-Feuilles)
Part III: Who is That Noir?
“The Last Department” by Katia D. Ulysse (Putis Blain)
“Departure Lounge” by Nadine Pinede (Cap Haitien)
“Who Is that Man?” by Yanick Lahens (Saint-Marc)
“Mercy at the Gate” by Marie Ketsia Theodore-Pharel (Croix-des-Bouquets)
“The Leopard of Ti Morne” by Mark Kurlansky (Gonaïves)
“The Blue Hill” by Rodney Saint-Éloi (Ozanana)