“Rodríguez’s
collection of essays is of strategic importance because it uncovers key
exchanges… and, in ways, translate works through linguistic
and cultural divides, to find common ground,” said award-winning novelist Myriam
J.A. Chancy, Ph.D.
The
144-page book is “a remarkable collection of essays,” said Maximilien Laroche,
noted scholar from the Université Laval in Canada.
“This work
of Cuban colleague Emilio Jorge Rodríguez should be listed among the few books
that can be said to truly advance the understanding of the subject they
address,” said Silvio Torres-Saillant, Dominican author and Syracuse University
professor.
As with the
previous English/Spanish edition, topics covered in Haïti et l’identité littéraire
trans-caribéenne are the
Haitian novel in the 20th century and the search for Amerindian
and African origins in the masterful work of Alejo Carpentier. The subject
of “Creole transgressions” between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is
critically explored, and is sure to raise some eyebrows or even tempers but
definitely imparting new intelligences, said St. Martin author Lasana M.
Sekou. There’s
also a rare, captivating discussion placing Cuba’s great poet Nicolás Guillén
on a visit in Haiti at the “elite” center of the country’s debate on race and
culture.
Haïti et
l’identité littéraire trans-caribéenne, brings to new readers and thinkers what “could
certainly be a missing link for most in building our fuller knowledge and
experiences of Caribbean literature and culture, of how we think and why we
live as we do in this region,” said St. Martin author Lasana M. Sekou.
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| Emilio Jorge Rodríguez (HNP photo) |
Venezuela’s Prof. Douglas Uzcátegui called Rodríguez “one of the most authoritative voices in the Caribbean and from the Caribbean. His career as a researcher reflects a long and sustained work that exposes a tour on orality and writing of the diverse, complex and rich Caribbean culture.”
A well-published
author, Rodríguez has lectured at universities and conferences in Latin
America, the Caribbean, and the USA.
Aurelio
Fernández and Mayla Reyes translated Haiti and
Trans-Caribbean Literary Identity to French from the original Spanish.
The cover of the book features a brilliant watercolor, “Soul’s Flight,” by US
artist Keith Mallet.
Haïti et
l’identité littéraire trans-caribéenne is available in the English/Spanish edition (Haiti and
Trans-Caribbean Literary Identity / Haití y la transcaribeñidad literaria) at Amazon.com, spdbooks.org,
Van Dorp, Arnia’s, other bookstores, and houseofnehesipublish.com.
