Tell Me More’s summer reading series, Island Reads, highlights authors from the Caribbean. Julia Alvarez’s A Wedding In Haiti started as a promise to a young Haitian man who was working on a farm. If he ever married, Alvarez and her husband would attend the wedding. Little did she know what that would entail, and all that would follow. For the audio of the full interview, follow the link below.
Julia Alvarez told Tell Me More guest host Celeste Headlee about that journey and more.
Interview Highlights
The borders between the Dominican Republic and Haiti
“Well it’s amazing. We’re on a little island and Haiti was, as I mentioned in the book, like the sister that I never knew. Growing up in the Dominican Republic as a little Dominican girl, you know the boogeyman was the boogeyman from Haiti. He would come and he would take Dominican children and they ate them over in Haiti. That’s how I would be scared as a kid. We have this, as I said, problematic relationship.
“There have been horrible moments in the history. The massacre of 1937 when upwards of 20,000 Haitians living on the Dominican side were massacred by our dictator. So I was ashamed to go there as a Dominican. I wouldn’t welcome a Dominican if I were Haitian. So I was a little afraid but I knew that I had to cross that border, which was also an internal border, a historical border, a cultural border.”
How to help Haiti
“I think to bare witness; to see a place accurately, to listen, to come in without any preconceptions, without any solutions and really be present can be transformative. Not just for you as a listener, but for the person telling the story. I think one of the real ways to help Haiti is to be present and to listen and to see. And not to come in with a cookie-cutter, with what sometimes I call ‘moral colonialism,’ you know, with a solution from the outside, with ‘we know better.’ Because I think that there is a resilience, and beauty, and nobleness to the Haitian people. That [laughter] they got a lot to teach us.”
Dealing with the bigger picture
“When you talk about big issues, I think they work best one story at a time, one character at a time. The Japanese haiku writer Issa has a beautiful little haiku where he says, ‘I look in the dragonfly’s eye and I see the mountains over my shoulder.’ So I think that the way to deal with the big wavey issues, the big mountains over your shoulder, is to look at a particular story. You know the dragon fly’s eye; to look at Piti, the drama of his life, his family in Haiti. The kinds of things that happen to a young boy that’s in a migrant work crew in the mountains of the Dominican Republic; funny things, sad things. And what happens when a relationship with this Dominicana Americana and her husband, what happens when that relationship plays itself out.”
Read an excerpt of A Wedding In Haiti
For the original report go to http://www.npr.org/2013/08/22/214496526/haiti-the-sister-i-hardly-knew
Repeating Islands 
Howdy very nice blog!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Superb ..
I will bookmark your web site and take the feeds additionally?
I am glad to search out so many useful info right here within
the put up, we need develop extra techniques in this regard,
thanks for sharing. . . . . .
LikeLike
However, I strongly suggest that you choose one or two niche markets and go after them first.
Personalized cards, letter paper, ink stamps, magnets, and some identity products are given; each
varies from dessign to design. Online shoppers should know that Vistaprint promo code tagged on
wide array of best graphic design services.
LikeLike
Hi this is Steven Sen from whereto-buygarciniacambogia.com…very nice and descriptive share for the viewer
thanks.
LikeLike
What’s up friends, how is everything, and what you would
like to say on the topic of this article, in my view its actually remarkable in favor of me.
LikeLike
The first question is, “Will the h – CG diet help me lose weight. What is the website link among Vitamin B12 and fat reduction. The HCG diet combines the effectiveness of HCG, a naturally occurring hormone and a reduced calorie diet. Would you still think it was a good investment if you gained all the weight back within a month or two after stopping the diet. Orange liquid because well because low fat drinking natural yoghurts are integrated seeing that supply of potassium.
LikeLike
Good day! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out
and say I truly enjoy reading through your posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same subjects?
Thank you so much!
LikeLike
Looked over this fabulous site and purchased a
steam shower and never ever looked backwards, incredible resources
on this website can not say thanks enough
LikeLike
Never before heard of a steam shower enclosure until finally I ran into this site, so happy I did so want to have one now
and money allowing will likely be owning one before long
LikeLike
However, do not add local keywords as this can result in a ranking drop and it is against Google.
By giving your current email address they can email you if you
have a chance of signing up, so retain checking back again because even though you have already been invited, there’s the opportunity you won’t be in as it
seems to be first arrive first provide whenever new openings
turn into available. As yourself, what really makes your brand, business
or service stand out from the rest.
LikeLike
Remember to share good content that highlights your area of expertise, helpful
hints, client success stories and of course, your upcoming programs
and services. PPT files furthermore hit the road, available that changes aren’t needed.
Which means it’s the ideal time for marketers in order to
gear up plus adopt all raging trend to benefit the most out of that it.
LikeLike
Excellent site a large amount of brilliant steam shower information here
LikeLike
I constaոtly spent my half an hour to read thyiѕ web site’s posts
all the time along with a mսg of coffee.
LikeLike
A “mashup” is an application that combines the functionality of two of more other
applications. FBabble allows Facebook users to talk immediately done personal mobile
with Facebook Chat. When adding photos to a group, make sure you read the
group posting rules.
LikeLike
Asking questions are truly fastidious thing if you are
not understanding anything completely, however this paragraph gives good understanding even.
LikeLike
Superb blog! Do you have any helpful hins for aspiring writers?
I’mplanning to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost onn everything.
Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or ggo ffor
a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m totally overwhelmed ..
Any suggestions? Thanks a lot!
LikeLike