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After the Dance by Edwidge Danticat
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After the Dance

A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti (Updated)

A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti (Updated)

A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti (Updated)

By Edwidge Danticat

By Edwidge Danticat

By Edwidge Danticat

By Edwidge Danticat

By Edwidge Danticat
Read by Edwidge Danticat

By Edwidge Danticat
Read by Edwidge Danticat

Best Seller

Part of Vintage Departures

Part of Vintage Departures

Paperback $15.95

Apr 28, 2015 | ISBN 9781101872918

Ebook $11.99

Apr 28, 2015 | ISBN 9781101872925

Audiobook Download $15.00

Nov 21, 2023 | 222 Minutes

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    After the Dance by Edwidge Danticat
    Paperback $15.95
    Apr 28, 2015 | ISBN 9781101872918

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    See All Formats (2) +
    • $15.95

      Apr 28, 2015 | ISBN 9781101872918

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • Apr 28, 2015 | ISBN 9781101872925

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • Nov 21, 2023 | ISBN 9780593794142

      222 Minutes

      Buy from Other Retailers:

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    About After the Dance

    As a child, acclaimed author Edwidge Danticat was terrified by Carnival festivities – until 2002, when she returned home to Haiti determined to understand the lure of this famed event. Here she chronicles her journey to the coastal town of Jacmel, where she met with the performers, artists, and organizers who re-create the myths and legends that bring the festival to life. In the process, Danticat traces the heroic and tragic history of the island, from French colonists and Haitian revolutionaries to American invaders and home-grown dictators. Part travelogue, part memoir, part historical analysis, this is the deeply personal story of a writer rediscovering her country, along with a part of herself—and a wonderful introduction to Haiti’s southern coast and to the beauty and passions of Carnival.

    About After the Dance

    In After the Dance, one of Haiti’s most renowned daughters returns to her homeland, taking readers on a stunning, exquisitely rendered journey beyond the hedonistic surface of Carnival and into its deep heart.

    Edwidge Danticat had long been scared off from Carnival by a loved one, who spun tales of people dislocating hips from gyrating with too much abandon, losing their voices from singing too loudly, going deaf from the clamor of immense speakers, and being punched, stabbed, pummeled, or fondled by other lustful revelers. Now an adult, she resolves to return and exorcise her Carnival demons. She spends the week before Carnival in the area around Jacmel, exploring the rolling hills and lush forests and meeting the people who live and die in them. During her journeys she traces the heroic and tragic history of the island, from French colonists and Haitian revolutionaries to American invaders and home-grown dictators. Danticat also introduces us to many of the performers, artists, and organizers who re-create the myths and legends that bring the Carnival festivities to life. When Carnival arrives, we watch as she goes from observer to participant and finally loses herself in the overwhelming embrace of the crowd.

    Part travelogue, part memoir, this is a lyrical narrative of a writer rediscovering her country along with a part of herself. It’s also a wonderful introduction to Haiti’s southern coast and to the true beauty of Carnival.

    About After the Dance

    In After the Dance, one of Haiti’s most renowned daughters returns to her homeland, taking readers on a stunning, exquisitely rendered journey beyond the hedonistic surface of Carnival and into its deep heart.

    Edwidge Danticat had long been scared off from Carnival by a loved one, who spun tales of people dislocating hips from gyrating with too much abandon, losing their voices from singing too loudly, going deaf from the clamor of immense speakers, and being punched, stabbed, pummeled, or fondled by other lustful revelers. Now an adult, she resolves to return and exorcise her Carnival demons. She spends the week before Carnival in the area around Jacmel, exploring the rolling hills and lush forests and meeting the people who live and die in them. During her journeys she traces the heroic and tragic history of the island, from French colonists and Haitian revolutionaries to American invaders and home-grown dictators. Danticat also introduces us to many of the performers, artists, and organizers who re-create the myths and legends that bring the Carnival festivities to life. When Carnival arrives, we watch as she goes from observer to participant and finally loses herself in the overwhelming embrace of the crowd.

    Part travelogue, part memoir, this is a lyrical narrative of a writer rediscovering her country along with a part of herself. It’s also a wonderful introduction to Haiti’s southern coast and to the true beauty of Carnival.

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

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    Listen to a sample from After the Dance

    Also by Edwidge Danticat

    Everything Inside
    A Walk Through Carnival
    Mama's Nightingale
    Claire of the Sea Light
    Create Dangerously
    See all books by Edwidge Danticat

    Also by Edwidge Danticat

    Everything Inside
    A Walk Through Carnival
    Mama's Nightingale
    Claire of the Sea Light
    Create Dangerously
    See all books by Edwidge Danticat

    Also by Edwidge Danticat

    Everything Inside
    A Walk Through Carnival
    Mama's Nightingale
    Claire of the Sea Light
    Create Dangerously
    See all books by Edwidge Danticat

    About Edwidge Danticat

    EDWIDGE DANTICAT is the author of numerous books, including The Art of Death, a National Book Critics Circle finalist; Claire of the Sea Light, a New York TimesNotable Book; Brother, I’m Dying, a National Book Critics Circle Award winner and National Book Award finalist; The Dew… More about Edwidge Danticat

    About Edwidge Danticat

    EDWIDGE DANTICAT is the author of numerous books, including The Art of Death, a National Book Critics Circle finalist; Claire of the Sea Light, a New York TimesNotable Book; Brother, I’m Dying, a National Book Critics Circle Award winner and National Book Award finalist; The Dew… More about Edwidge Danticat

    About Edwidge Danticat

    EDWIDGE DANTICAT is the author of numerous books, including The Art of Death, a National Book Critics Circle finalist; Claire of the Sea Light, a New York TimesNotable Book; Brother, I’m Dying, a National Book Critics Circle Award winner and National Book Award finalist; The Dew… More about Edwidge Danticat

    Product Details

    Category: Travel Writing | Travel: Caribbean & Mexico | Biography & Memoir

    Paperback | $15.95
    Published by Vintage
    Apr 28, 2015 | 176 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9781101872918

    Category: Travel Writing | Travel: Caribbean & Mexico | Biography & Memoir

    Ebook | $11.99
    Published by Vintage
    Apr 28, 2015 | 176 Pages | ISBN 9781101872925

    Category: Travel Writing | Travel: Caribbean & Mexico | Biography & Memoir | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $15.00
    Published by Random House Audio
    Nov 21, 2023 | 222 Minutes | ISBN 9780593794142

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    Praise

    “Danticat relates the history of a place—and an event—that she finds both heartbreaking and irresistible.” —The New Yorker

    “[Danticat is] a marvelous writer, blending personal anecdotes, history and larger reflections.” —San Francisco Chronicle

    “Danticat writes with a compassionate insight but without a trace of sentimentality. Her prose is energetic, her vision is clear.” —The Miami Herald

    “Sensual, magical but fiercely intelligent. . . . This gem of lyrical reportage takes [Danticat] from behind a ‘mask of distant observer’ into the heart of a ‘massive stream of joy,’ filling in the history and folklore behind the steamy surface.” —The Independent (London)

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