Even When I Think Of Writing Fiction,

We All Have A Tendency To Over Generalize Our Individual Experiences. After I've Published Something, I'll Meet Someone Who Says, "i'm Haitian, And I Don't Know This, So It Must Not Be True." Even If We're Talking About A Work Of Fiction. I've Gotten Very Angry Myself Reading Many Things About Haiti. We're Not A Monolithic Group; No Group Is. Also, It's Important To Keep In Mind The Genre In Which We Are Writing. Fiction Is Full Of Invented Stories About Exceptional People In Exceptional Situations. Those Situations Are Not Always Cheery Or Celebratory.

The Justification - The Idea That We Have A Right To Invade Another Country And Determine Another People's Destiny - Is Frightening. And I Fear Really For The Future Of That Occupation. What Happens Now, And Twenty Years From Now, And Forty Years From Now, Given Our Case? People In The United States May Feel Like When We Don't See It On Cnn Twenty-four Hours A Day, It Sort Of Disappears. But It Doesn't Disappear For The People Who Have To Live Under Occupation - And Their Children And Their Children's Children.

I Think It's Hard For An Outsider To Capture The Flavor Of A Community And All Its Nuances, So Ultimately Haitian-americans Need To Start Sharing Intimate Accounts Of Their Stories.

I Love The Process Of Cracking The Spine For The First Time And Slowly Sinking Into A Book. That Will Soon Seem Old-fashioned, I'm Sure, Like The Time Of Illuminated Manuscripts.

Often When You're An Immigrant Writing In English, People Think It's Primarily A Commercial Choice. But For Many Of Us, It's A Choice That Rises Out Of The Circumstances Of Our Lives. These Are The Tools I Have At My Disposal, Based On My Experiences. It's A Constant Debate, Not Just In My Community But In Other Communities As Well. Where Do You Belong? You're Kind Of One Of Us, But You Now Write In A Different Language.