Edwidge Danticat: 'Whether Or Not We Belong Is Not Defined By Us'
Most of the characters in Edwidge Danticat's new collection are Haitian American, and Haiti is often in their hearts and on their minds. Danticat says the stories reflect her own immigrant experience.
In a new short story by Edwidge Danticat, a mother and daughter need to have a hard talk. So they go out to dinner — which the daughter finds ironic. "The daughter thinks, why do people wait until they're in a public place with a mouth full of food to reveal the most horrible news," Danticat says. "And a lot of us do that! You're like, let's go out to dinner, I have some news for you."
The bad news in this story involves the main character's family, and her country of origin. She's from Haiti — most of the are Haitian American. Natural and political disasters have sent many of them fleeing to the U.S; they live in New York or Miami, but Haiti is often in the hearts and on their minds.
