Bookshelf (Mar/Apr 2021) | Book reviews
This month’s reading picks from the Caribbean, with reviews of Inheritance: The Story of a West Indian Family by Ian McDonald; of colour by Katherine Agyemaa Agard; My Mother’s House by Francesca Momplaisir; and The Wondrous and Tragic Life of Ivan and Ivana by Maryse Condé
Q&A with Esery Mondesir | Screenshots
Haitian filmmaker Esery Mondesir discusses his documentary triptych exploring the lives of his compatriots in the diaspora
The Ghetto Biennale: when art is defiance | Backstory
Ten years ago, a group of artists in Haiti launched an audacious, even provocative, project: the Ghetto Biennale, drawing international attention to the creative community in Port-au-Prince’s Grand Rue. The event’s tensions and discomforts are at the heart of its mission, writes Nixon Nelson, as the Ghetto Biennale prepares to stage its sixth edition
Naomi Osaka: a Haitian-Japanese star on the rise | Snapshot
For anyone who likes easy answers to questions of identity, Naomi Osaka is a conundrum: half-Haitian, half-Japanese, raised for part of her childhood in New York City, visibly hybrid. As Caroline Taylor learns, Osaka hasn’t always been comfortable with the role of mixed-race role model — but she’s learning to embrace it, on her own terms
Football holiday | On this day
When two English football clubs toured the Caribbean fifty-five years ago, local teams in Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados were no competition. Haiti was a different story, writes James Ferguson
“Papa Doc” Duvalier: When the bogeyman is real | On this day
Sixty years ago, Haitian dictator “Papa Doc” Duvalier set up a fearsome paramilitary corps to dispatch political opposition. James Ferguson looks back at the sinister history of the Tontons Macoutes
Tessa Mars: full free | Closeup
Haitian artist Tessa Mars is influenced by her country’s revolutionary history as much as her own family’s intellectual tradition, and her lifelong fascination with riddles. Her colourful paintings often feature a semi-autobiographical character named Tessalines — and deal in complex ideas about identity and freedom. Shereen Ali finds out more
Sans-Souci, Haiti: uncovering a kingdom | Discover
It’s one of the Caribbean’s most resonant historic sites, but surprisingly little is known about the true history of Sans-Souci, the palace of Henri Christophe, writes Erline Andrews. Now a multinational team of archaeologists are using high-tech tools to resurvey the site, and perhaps rewrite Haitian history
