Edwidge Danticat facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Edwidge Danticat
Danticat, September 2019
Born	(1969-01-19) January 19, 1969 (age 56) Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	Haitian-American
Education	Barnard College (BA) Brown University (MFA)
Period	1994–present
Genre	Novels, short stories
Notable works	Breath, Eyes, Memory (1994) Krik? Krak! (1996) The Farming of Bones (1998) The Dew Breaker (2004)

Edwidge Danticat (born January 19, 1969) is a talented Haitian American writer. She writes novels and short stories. Her first novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory, came out in 1994. It was even chosen for Oprah's Book Club, which is a big deal! Edwidge Danticat has written or helped create many books. She has also won many awards. Starting in the fall of 2023, she will be a special professor at Columbia University.

Early Life and Education
- Becoming a Writer
Personal Life
Themes in Her Writing
Awards and Honors
Works by Edwidge Danticat
See also

Early Life and Education

Edwidge Danticat was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. When she was twelve, her father moved to New York. Two years later, her mother joined him. This meant Edwidge and her younger brother were raised by their aunt and uncle in Haiti.

When she was a child, storytelling was a big part of her life. She also went to church and studied hard for school. Even though her classes in Haiti were in French, she spoke Haitian Creole at home.

Becoming a Writer

Edwidge started writing when she was just nine years old in Haiti. Later, she wrote a story about moving to a new country. It was for a magazine called New Youth Connections. She said that writing for this magazine gave her a voice. It helped her share her stories. This first story later grew into her first novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory.

After high school in Brooklyn, New York, Edwidge went to Barnard College in New York City. She graduated in 1990. At first, she thought about becoming a nurse. But her love for writing was stronger. She earned a degree in French literature. Then, she got her Master's degree in Creative Writing from Brown University in 1993.

Edwidge Danticat cares deeply about issues affecting Haitians. In 2009, she helped with a film called Poto Mitan: Haitian Women Pillars of the Global Economy. This film showed how global changes affect women in Haiti.

Personal Life

Edwidge Danticat married Fedo Boyer in 2002. They have two daughters named Mira and Leila.

Even though Edwidge lives in the United States, she still feels that Haiti is her home. She visits Haiti often. She says she feels like she never truly left it.

Themes in Her Writing

Danticat speaks in 2019

Edwidge Danticat's books often explore important ideas. Three main themes appear in her work. These are national identity, mother-daughter relationships, and the experiences of people living away from their home country.

National Identity

Many people who study Danticat's work look at how she writes about national identity. This means what it feels like to be from a certain country. In her novel Breath, Eyes, Memory, she explores what it means to be Haitian. She shows how people connect to their country's history. This is true even when they live far away. Her book The Farming of Bones tells stories of people who survived a terrible event in 1937. It shows how that event affected Haitian identity. Danticat helps readers understand Haiti's history. She also shows that the country is more than just its struggles.

Mother-Daughter Bonds

Danticat's book Breath, Eyes, Memory also shows how important the relationship between mothers and daughters is. It explores how these bonds shape who a person becomes. The main character, Sophie, goes through experiences that are similar to her mother Martine's. This shows how strong family connections can be.

In the story, Sophie chooses to be like a "Marassa" for her mother. Marassas are like doubles. They represent being the same and having a deep love. They are "inseparable and identical." This idea shows how Sophie and Martine share their pain and challenges. They become very close.

Life Away From Home

Scholars agree that Danticat uses her writing to explore her Haitian background. She also writes about being Haitian-American. In Breath, Eyes, Memory, she shows how Haitians in America create a new identity. It's a mix of their old traditions and their new life. It's not always easy, but it's a unique experience.

Danticat often refers to older Haitian writers. By doing this, she creates a new community. This community exists for people who are between two cultures. Her short stories in Krik? Krak! also connect different groups of people. These include Haitians, immigrants, women, and mothers and daughters. She gives a voice to those who might not be able to share their own stories.

In her travel book After the Dance: A Walk through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti (2002), Danticat shares her experiences. She wanted to show readers Haiti's culture and its famous Carnival. She traveled to recover parts of Haiti's past. She saw herself as an "outsider" in Jacmel. This was even though she was from Haiti. She had never been allowed to join the Carnival as a child. She advises readers to see her book from the view of someone returning to their homeland, not as a local.

Awards and Honors

Edwidge Danticat has won many awards for her writing. She has been recognized by magazines like Essence and Seventeen. Harper's Bazaar named her one of "20 people in their twenties who will make a difference." The New York Times Magazine called her one of "30 under 30" people to watch. Jane magazine named her one of the "15 Gutsiest Women of the Year."

1994: Fiction Award The Caribbean Writer
1995: Woman of Achievement Award, Barnard College
Pushcart Prize for "Between the Pool and the Gardenias"
1995: National Book Award for Fiction finalist for Krik? Krak!
1996: Granta magazine's Best Young American Novelists
Lila-Wallace-Reader's Digest Grant
1999: American Book Award for The Farming of Bones
1999: Flaiano Literature Prize
1999: Super Flaiano of Literature for The Farming of Bones
2005: Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for The Dew Breaker
2005: The Story Prize for The Dew Breaker
2007: National Book Award for Nonfiction finalist for Brother, I'm Dying
2007: National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction for Brother, I'm Dying
2008: Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Brother, I'm Dying
2008: Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Brother, I'm Dying
2009: MacArthur Fellows Program Genius grant
2009: The Nicolas Guillen Philosophical Literature Prize, Caribbean Philosophical Association
2011: Langston Hughes Medal, City College of New York
2011: OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature for Create Dangerously
2012: Smith College Honorary Degree
2013: Yale University Honorary Degree
2014: Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, shortlist for Claire of the Sea Light
2014: PEN Oakland – Josephine Miles Literary Award
2017: Honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) degree from the University of the West Indies Open Campus
2017: Neustadt International Prize for Literature
2018: Presidents Award, St. Martin Book Fair.
2019: National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction winner for Everything Inside
2020: The Story Prize for Everything Inside
2020: Vilcek Prize in Literature

Works by Edwidge Danticat

Novels

Breath, Eyes, Memory (1994)
The Farming of Bones (1998)
The Dew Breaker (2004)
Claire of the Sea Light (2013)

Short Story Collections

Krik? Krak! (1995)
Everything Inside (2019)

Books for Children and Young Adults

Behind the Mountains (young adult novel, 2002)
Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490 (young adult novel, 2005)
The Last Mapou (children's novel, January 2013)
Untwine (young adult novel, October 2015)

Edited Collections

The Butterfly's Way (anthology editor)
Best American Essays, 2011 (anthology editor, October 2011)
Haiti Noir 2: The Classics (anthology editor, January 2014)

Nonfiction Books

After the Dance: A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti (travel book, 2002)
Brother, I'm Dying (memoir/social criticism, 2007)
Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work (essay collection, 2010)
Eight Days: A Story of Haiti (picture book, 2010)
Tent Life: Haiti (essay contributor, 2011)
Haiti Noir (anthology editor, 2011)
Mama's Nightingale (picture book, September, 2015)
The Art of Death (biography, July 2017)
My Mommy Medicine (picture book, February 2019)

Film Work

Poto Mitan – Writer/Narrator, 2009
Girl Rising (Haiti) – Writer, 2013