Edwidge Danticat Bio

Edwidge Danticat was born to Andre and Rose Danticat on January 19th, 1969, in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. When she was two years old her father immigrated to New York, Fleeing from the oppressive regime of Haitian dictator Francois Duvalier.   He was followed by Danticat's mother two years later, who joined him in a heavily Haitian American neighborhood in New York City. At the age of 4, Edwidge and her younger brother Andre Jr. moved in with their aunt and uncle. Edwidge would remain in Port-Au-Prince until she was 12 years old, when she moved to New York City to live with her mother and father. It was while she was living in Haiti that she discovered and honed her passion for writing, and her love for the subject would remain a constant in her life. She published her first short story at the age of 14, in NYC's New Youth Connections, a magazine for teens. Danticat would later receive a bachelor's degree in French Literature from Barnard College and a Masters in Creative Writing from Brown University.

Danticat's experience as a refugee and immigrant had a huge impact on her life and as such the immigrant experience features as a common theme throughout her writing. Danticat also heavily incorporates Haitian culture and tradition into her writing. She has taught creative writing at NYU and the University of Miami in supplement to her career as an author. Her writing has won international acclaim, racking up an impressive list of awards and commendations that includes two National Book Awards and an a=honorary degree from Yale University. Her most famous works are Breath, Eyes, Memory, Krik? Krak!, and The Farming of Bones.


"Edwidge Danticat." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.

Biography.com Editors. "Edwidge Danticat Biography." Biography.com. A&E Television Network, n.d. Web.

Questions:

1. How would Ka react to her father throwing out her sculpture if she were her man?

2. Is Ka's father the oppressed or the oppressor? How is his character an analogue for colonialism?

3. How do the lives of the narrators parents reflect the social disorder and poverty found in Duvalier controlled Haiti?