Catalog » Browse by Title: H » Haiti Noir

Haiti Noir

Akashic recruits Danticat, one of the truly great contemporary writers, to edit this timely volume featuring stories set both before and after the devastating 2010 earthquake.

Available as an e-book for:

What people are saying…

“A wide-ranging collection from the beloved but besieged Caribbean island . . . The 36th entry in Akashic’s Noir series (which ranges from Bronx to Delhi to Twin Cities) is beautifully edited, with a spectrum of voices.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“This anthology will give American readers a complex and nuanced portrait of the real Haiti not seen on the evening news and introduce them to some original and wonderful writers.”
—Library Journal

“Danticat has succeeded in assembling a group portrait of Haitian culture and resilience that is cause for celebration.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A solid contribution to the [noir] series, especially for its showcasing of a setting not commonly portrayed in crime fiction.”
—Booklist

“Danticat has put together a collection possessing classic noir elements—crimes and criminals and evil deeds only sometimes punished—but also something else, perhaps uniquely Haitian too.”
—Los Angeles Times

“The characters that emerge in the anthology are divergent figures, alienated by exile, thriving in the diaspora and devastated by limited choices. Their stories are multi-layered, thrilling and necessary.”
—Ms. Magazine

“Who can ever judge how important Danticat has been to Americans’ understanding and re-evaluating Haiti’s position and role in the hemisphere? Not just as a novelist and essayist in her own right, but as editor and guiding force behind this collection of short stories and the re-publication and English translation of the Chauvet triptych, the Haitian-born Danticat has brought her country’s literature back into the world of English-speakers. Filled with delights and surprises, Haiti Noir, taken as a whole, provides a profound portrait of the country, from its crises to its triumphs, from the tiny bouks of the countryside to the shanties of the sprawling bidonvilles. Danticat herself has a lovely story in the collection, and permits two distinguished foreign writers on Haiti, Madison Smartt Bell and Mark Kurlansky, to slide in there among all the brilliant Haitians.”
—Daily Beast

“Haiti Noir . . . showcases the diversity, humour, beauty and originality of ‘Haitian’ writing.”
—Wasafiri (UK)

Description

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)

Book Details

Paperback: 300 pages
Published: 12/7/10
IBSN: 9781936070657
e-IBSN: 9781617750120

Hardcover
IBSN: 9781617750137

Genre: Fiction

Author

EDWIDGE DANTICAT was born in Haiti and moved to the United States when she was twelve. She is the editor of Haiti Noir and Haiti Noir 2: The Classics and author of Breath, Eyes, Memory (an Oprah’s Book Club selection), Krik? Krak!, and The Dew Breaker, among other books for adults. Her books for children include Eight Days: A Story of Haiti, Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation, The Last Mapou, and My Mommy Medicine. Her young adult novels Untwine, Anacaona: Golden Flower, and Behind the Mountains offer profound insights into the immigrant experience and the beauty and complexity of Haitian culture. A MacArthur Fellow, Danticat currently teaches at Columbia University.

More info »