Language : ENGLISH

The Haitian peasant has always been the backbone of the Haitian economy and a source of inspiration for writers. Their vital oral tradition informs the literature of and about Haiti, and the peasantry and folk traditions are valorized in the classic and contemporary works discussed in this text. 

The Haitian Peasantry through Oral and Written Literature explores oral and written literatures from and about Haiti's peasant population in relation to its historical and contemporary reality. The book is an ideal introduction to Haitian literature and an excellent companion to the reading and study of Roumain's Gouverneurs de la rosée, Alexis's Compère Général Soleil, Endore's Babouk, Carpentier's The Kingdom of This World, and Fountain's contemporary story, “Bouki and the Cocaine.”

Toni PressleySanon's work gives us a much needed, necessary critical analysis as she “joins” Haiti's rich oral literature to its lengthy written tradition. The country's best writers have anchored their work in Afro Haitian traditions, much as historians will need to mark the origin of Haitian history in West and Central Africa, transcending the Caribbean context. PressleySanon furthers our understanding of Haiti and Haitians in wondrous ways. She goes to the roots.
—Patrick BellegardeSmith, Professor Emeritus, University of WisconsinMilwaukee

Dr. Toni PressleySanon is Assistant Professor of Africology and African American Studies at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. Her work focuses on the intersections of memory, history, and cultural production in Africa and the African diaspora. She holds a Ph.D. from the Department of African Languages and Literature with a minor in Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies from the University of WisconsinMadison. She also holds an M.A. in Liberal Studies and Anthropology from the New School for Social Research and a B.A. from Hamilton College. She is also a visual artist who draws inspiration from her research.

160 pp. softcover. 6 x 9 inches. 

Cat. #: CSP4480
ISBN #: 9781626324480