TALES FROM THE HEART OF HAITI

A collection of short stories By Patti M. Marxsen.

The author, Patti Marxsen, says: “This collection of nine stories grew out of my fascination with Haiti as a nation, a culture, and a land of contrasts. I began with the idea of Haitian Independence from France, in 1804, of Haiti as the first black republic, the result of the first successful slave uprising in the modern world. In my stories, I want to present a fresh perspective of the people of Haiti by writing of their interactions with those who come from somewhere else and try to help. Haiti overflows with expatriates and missionaries who desire to do good. But how much do foreign “helpers” see and know? What can they comprehend? Only when we allow ourselves to enter into that mysterious world of Haitian feeling, Haitian spirituality and Haitian loss, do we begin to understand the boundaries and the connections that exist between and among others.”

Patti M. Marxsen is an American writer whose work often focuses on Francophone literature and culture. Her book, Island Journeys, published by Alondra Press in 2008, contains a cogent and penetrating essay on Haiti. She lives in Switzerland with her husband and was recently elected to serve on the Executive Board of the Haitian Studies Association.

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