Haiti after the Earthquake: the Shape, Role and Power of Writing
Session ID: 12105
43nd Annual Convention, Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA)
March 15-18, 2012
Rochester, New York – Hyatt Rochester
Host Institution: St. John FisherCollege
http://www.nemla.org/convention/index.html
In parallel with the historicalconstruction of Haiti as an independent country, Haitian literature has beenvibrant for over two centuries. Writers, poets, artists create and note thecultural vivacity of Haiti. The literature reaches different countries, istranslated in several languages. Writers are internationally recognized andmany receive famous literary prices. Then, on January 12, 2010, the earthquakeshakes the earth, the ground of Haiti, shakes the bodies and the souls of peoplein Haiti and elsewhere. Immediately following the catastrophe, writers continueto write, start writing again, begin to create new works around the earthquakeand its aftermath. Several articles, fictions, collective volumes arepublished. The strength and life of Haitian literature continues to engagereaders, awakens new ones. Misery, pain, sadness and death populate the lines,but beauty, courage, vision and hope are also present. Words try to encompassthe complexity of the new face of Haiti. Words try to capture the absence. Thispanel is devoted to works written after the earthquake, to the role and powerof literature, to the necessity of writing that follows such a traumatic event.How can fiction, poetry, writing in general transcribe the memory, thewitnessing? What is the role of literature, what is the role of the writer,when survival becomes central?
Please submit 250-300 word abstracts in English or French toEmmanuelle Vanborre:
Emmanuelle.Vanborre@gordon.edu
Deadline: September 30, 2011
Please include with your abstract:
Name and Affiliation
Email address
Postal address
Telephone number
A/V requirements (if any; $10 handling fee with registration)