After Writing Fiction For So Long, I

People Often Think Of Haiti As A Place Where You're Not Supposed To Have Any Joy. I Wanted To Show That This Is A Place With Joy.

You Learned In School That You Have Pencils And Paper Only Because The Trees Gave Themselves In Unconditional Sacrifice.

Salt Is A Powerful Symbol In Haiti, As Elsewhere. Salt Of The Earth, For Example Is An American Phrase. In Haiti, Myth And Legend Has It That If You Are Turned Into A Zombie, If Someone Gives You A Taste Of Salt, Then You Can Come Back To Life. And In The Life Of The Fishermen, There Are So Many Little Things About Salt That I Wanted To Incorporate. The Salt In The Air. The Crackling Of Salt In The Fire. There's All This Damage, This Peeling Of The Fishing Boats From The Sea Salt. But There Is Also Healing From It, Sea Baths That Are Supposed To Heal All Kinds Of Aches And Wounds.

I'm Happy To Be Part Of This Chorus Of People Who Are Trying To Tell More Complex Stories About Haiti.

The Girl She Said, I Didn’t Tell You This Because It Was A Small Thing, But Little Girls, They Leave Their Hearts At Home When They Walk Outside. Hearts Are So Precious. They Don’t Want To Lose Them.