community | 28 Diaspora Figures | Edwidge Danticat

Edwidge Danticat
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwidge_danticat

Early life

When she was two years old, her father André immigrated to New York from Haiti, to be followed two years later by her mother Rose. This left Edwidge to be raised by her aunt and uncle. It was during these years that she was exposed to the Haitian practice of storytelling. While still in Haiti, Edwidge wrote her first short story about a girl who was visited by a clan of women each night. Although her formal education in Haiti was in French, she always spoke Haitian Kreyol at home. At the age of 12, she moved to Brooklyn, New York to join her parents in a heavily Haitian-American neighbourhood. As an immigrant teenager Edwidge's accent and upbringing were a source of discomfort for her, thus she turned to literature for solace. Two years later she published her first writing, in English.

Education and writing career

After graduating high school, Edwidge entered Barnard College in New York City. Initially she had intended on studying nursing, however her love of writing won out and she received a BA in French literature. Later she earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Her thesis at Brown was her novel Breath, Eyes, Memory, which was published by Soho Press in 1994. This would later become an Oprah's Book Club selection in 1998.

Since completing her Masters Degree, she has taught creative writing at New York University, and the University of Miami. She has also worked with filmmakers Patricia Benoit and Jonathan Demme on projects on Haitian art and documentaries about Haiti. Her short stories, such as New York Day Woman, have appeared in over 25 periodicals and have been anthologized several times. Her work has been translated into other languages such as French, Korean, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish.

Edwidge is proud of her Haitian origin and returns often to Haiti to visit relatives.

Bibliography
* Breath, Eyes, Memory (1994)
* Krik? Krak! (1995)
* The Farming of Bones (1998)
* The Dew Breaker (2004)
* Anacaona, Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490 (2005)

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1995 Woman of Achievement Award, Barnard College Pushcart Short Story Prize National Book Award nomination for Krik? Krak!

1996 Best Young American Novelists for Breath, Eyes, Memory by GRANTA Lila-Wallace-Readerís Digest Grant

1999 American Book Award for The Farming of the Bones The International Flaiano Prize for literature The Super Flaiano Prize for The Farming of the Bones

Other Awards/Recognition: Fiction awards Essence and Seventeen Magazines; "1 of 20 people in their twenties who will make a difference" in Harpers Bazaar; featured in "30 under 30" people to watch New York Times Magazine; one of the "15 Gutsiest Women of the Year" Jane Magazine; Oprah Winfrey's Book of the Month Club for Breath, Eyes, Memory.