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Edwidge Danticat

エドウィッジ・ダンティカ

Edwidge Danticat

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1969-01-19 （Port-au-Prince, Haiti）
Nationality
Haitian American
Languages
English, Haitian Creole, French
Residence History
Port-au-Prince, Haiti → New York City, USA (Brooklyn) → United States (residence)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Novelist, Short story writer, Essayist
Active Years
1994-
Affiliations
Columbia University (Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies)
Influenced By
Albert Camus (inspiration for Create Dangerously)

Education

Barnard College
Faculty of Arts / French Literature
Degree: BA
Period: 1986–1990
Year of Graduation: 1990
Country: United States
Graduated Phi Beta Kappa
Brown University
Graduate School (Creative Writing) / Creative Writing
Degree: MFA
Period: 1991–1993
Year of Graduation: 1993
Country: United States

Awards

MacArthur Fellowship
2009
Organization: MacArthur Foundation
Result: 受賞
The Story Prize
2020
Work: Everything Inside
Organization: The Story Prize
Result: 受賞
Neustadt International Prize for Literature
2017
Organization: Neustadt Prize
Result: 受賞
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
2005
Work: The Dew Breaker
Organization: Anisfield-Wolf
Result: 受賞
The Story Prize
2005
Work: The Dew Breaker
Organization: The Story Prize
Result: 受賞
National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
2007
Work: Brother, I'm Dying
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: 受賞
Dayton Literary Peace Prize
2008
Work: Brother, I'm Dying
Organization: Dayton Literary Peace Prize
Result: 受賞
American Book Award
1999
Work: The Farming of Bones
Organization: Before Columbus Foundation
Result: 受賞
Pushcart Prize
1994
Work: Between the Pool and the Gardenias (short story)
Organization: Pushcart Press
Result: 受賞
National Book Award for Fiction
1995
Work: Krik? Krak!
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 最終候補
Vilcek Prize in Literature
2020
Organization: Vilcek Foundation
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Breath, Eyes, Memory

1994 Novel (immigrant literature, women's literature)

A novel about a girl who moves from Haiti to New York, exploring mother-daughter relationships, bodily memory, and trauma.

mother-daughter relationshipsnational identityimmigration and diasporatrauma and healing

Krik? Krak!

1995 Short story collection

A collection of short stories focusing on Haitian women, diaspora experiences, and individual voices.

women's voicesimmigrant experiencecollective memory

The Farming of Bones

1998 Historical novel

A historical novel set against the 1937 massacre, dealing with memory and survival.

historical violenceborder and ethnic conflictmemory

The Dew Breaker

2004 Interlinked short stories

Interlinked stories of people in Haiti and New York revealing past violence and its aftermath.

legacy of violenceidentitymemory and redemption

Brother, I'm Dying

2007 Memoir / Nonfiction

A memoir exploring family history, immigration from Haiti to the U.S., loss, responsibility, and the relation between nation and self.

family historyimmigrant realitiesloss and responsibility

Claire of the Sea Light

2013 Novel

Set in a small Haitian town, it tells the story of a missing girl and the community's memories and wounds.

communitylossmemory

Everything Inside

2019 Short story collection

A collection of short stories about relationships, loss, and forgiveness.

relationshipslossforgiveness

Bibliography

  • Breath, Eyes, Memory (1994)
  • Krik? Krak! (1995)
  • The Farming of Bones (1998)
  • After the Dance: A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti (2002)
  • The Dew Breaker (2004)
  • Brother, I'm Dying (2007)
  • Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work (2010)
  • Claire of the Sea Light (2013)
  • Everything Inside (2019)
  • We're Alone (2024)

Adaptations

  • Poto Mitan (documentary, 2009)
  • Girl Rising (narration for Haiti segment, 2013)

Translations by Author

  • Co-translator of Jacques Stephen Alexis' L'Espace d'un cillement as In the Flicker of an Eyelid (2002)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical, memory-rooted proseblending personal experience and historynarrative and evocative short-story technique
Recurring Motifs
mother-daughter relationshipsmigration and diasporamemory and traumarelationship between nation and individual

Legacy

Danticat is regarded as a major voice in Haitian-American literature; her works on immigration, family, and memory have received international recognition and numerous literary awards. She continues to bring attention to Haitian history and diaspora issues in academic and public arenas.

Quotes

  • When I was done with the [immigration] piece, I felt that my story was unfinished, so I wrote a short story... Writing for New Youth Connections had given me a voice. My silence was destroyed completely, indefinitely.
    Source: Introduction to Starting With I (anthology) (1997)

Trivia

  • Began writing at age nine.
  • Published her first novel in 1994; Breath, Eyes, Memory was later selected for Oprah's Book Club.
  • Received a MacArthur Fellowship (Genius Grant) in 2009.
  • Married Fedo Boyer in 2002; has two daughters, Mira and Leila.