Looking Back on Haiti: Reexploration and Rewriting in a Diasporic Perspective
NeMLA 2023: Niagara Falls, NY. March 23-26, 2023.
In the second half of the 20th century, Haitian society has been profoundly impacted by massive waves of exile provoked by the collective trauma of the Duvaliers dictatorships and epitomized by the internationally recognizable image of the "boat people". On the literary scene, the resulting Haitian diaspora, in North America and elsewhere, has found ways to maintain connections with the native land, reminiscing on childhood memories, revisiting Haiti both physically and metaphorically, and engaging with their shared history, myths, and traditions.