The Magic Island
In December 1996 I traveled to Haiti as part of a cultural tour sponsored by Global Exchange. We visited Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, Cap-Haitien, and the voodoo shrine of Souvenance. I wrote two articles about that trip: Haiti as a Tourist Destination and Fleurs du Mal.
For me, the history, art, literature, and religion of Haiti make it the most fascinating place in the Caribbean. The beauty of the country is sometimes shadowed by the negative press Haiti receives, but I hope some of it comes through in photos. Many of the books below can be found at www.indigocafe.com, an online bookstore I help run with Jenn Brissett.
Fiction
- Continental Drift by Russell Banks
- The Comedians by Graham Greene
- Under the Bone by Anne-christine d'Adesky
- Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat
- In the Palm of Darkness by Mayra Montero
Culture and Politics
- Best Nightmare on Earth by Herbert Gold
- The Uses of Haiti by Paul Farmer
- Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
- The Immaculate Invasion by Bob Shacochis
- The Black Jacobins by C.L.R. James
- The Magic Island by William Seabrook
- Life in a Haitian Valley by Melville Herskovits
- The Rainy Season by Amy Wilentz
- Island Possessed by Katherine Dunham
- The Serpent and the Rainbow by Wade Davis
Voodoo
Just to be clear: Haitian voodoo is a religion, with its roots in the West African country of Benin. It is not the same as witchcraft, although there are followers of voodoo who practice witchcraft as well. Despite the negative and misleading associations with the word "voodoo," it is a better known term than variations like vodou or vodoun, and is used in many of the classic works on the subject.
- Tell My Horse by Zora Neale Hurston
- Divine Horsemen by Maya Deren
- Voodoo in Haiti by Alfred Metraux
- Voodoo: Search for the Spirit by Laennec Hurbon
- Mama Lola by Mary McCarthy Brown
- Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou by Donald J. Cosentino
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