File, Digital Video

Danticat
Masterclass
1
Master

Digital video taken from a MiniDV tape containing raw footage of the initial portion of Edwidge Danticat's masterclass presentation at Marygrove College, held on April 12, 2002 in conjunction with the Annual Bauder Contemporary American Authors Lecture. The footage is continued in MG-2022.501.019.

The recording begins with some introductory words from Dr. Frank Rashid. Afterward, Dr. Karen Davis provides an introduction for Edwidge Danticat.

Danticat starts her presentation with a ten writing exercise for the students, during which the recording fades out. When the recording resumes, Danticat reads what she wrote during the period. She then calls several of the students up to read what they wrote.

She then talks about her background--living in Haiti under François Duvalier and Jean-Claude Duvalier, emigrating to the United States, and finding writings as a means of dealing with the prejudices and other hardships she faced as an immigrant. This leads to a reading of "Westbury Court." She then invites questions from the audience--her responses deal with characterizations of Haitian people in literature, influences, making a living as a writer, cultural assimilation, women characters, the significance of bones in her works, reflecting different religious groups in writing, and Massacre River. She then reads a passage from "Behind the Mountains." More questions follow, dealing with criticism, grappling with death, drawing from happy and sad inspirations, regrets, and adding the afterward to "Breath, Eyes, Memory." She concludes the session with another writing exercise, this one involving partners. The recording fades as the students can be heard beginning.