Haiti’s History and the Life and Times of Edwidge Danticat 6

Edwidge Danticat: The earthquake in 2010, for me, drew a kind of line in terms of what Haiti I was thinking about when I was writing my books. And the Haiti I was always writing about was always my Haiti. It was my interpretation of what I would see when I would go on my visits there to see my family and also my personal history to certain places where I would be or would end up. So that changed and, of course, because the place has changed—my uncle's house and church were severely damaged. The house is really no more. I don't have—I don't go back now to that particular neighborhood. When I go back, I go to other family members, other places, so it's sort of—my footing, my headquarters, if you will, has shifted. So, you know, the relation to place changes and the experience that I have changed. My cousin Maxo who was in detention with my uncle, died during the earthquake and his children were in the rubble for many days. One of them died, but thankfully, the others survived and are still in Haiti. So, you know, a lot—not just the physical ground shifts but also, I think, a lot of the emotional and psychological connections are rearranged.