After the Dance
Subtitle: A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti
Publisher: Crown Journeys
Published: 2002
Language: eng
Number of pages: 160
ISBN-13: 9780609609088
First sentence: DURING CARNIVAL JACMEL is not a town or a city.
Description: "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 a 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."--BOOK JACKET.