Roxane Gay at the Wheeler Centre

Watch this interesting video featuring Roxane Gay at the Wheeler Centre. I had the good fortune to meet Roxane briefly at a book event, and she is warm, proud of her Haitian roots, down to earth, and a talented critic of popular culture. Gay discusses feminism, race, class, and popular culture in this engaging conversation.

Ayiti

Just finished Roxane Gay's short collection, Ayiti. Some of the stories were no more than 1-3 pages, so it was a quick read. She writes eloquently about Haiti from a diaspora, in such a knowing and loving way. She clearly loves her heritage. Of course, she knows about everything that plagues Haiti, but when it comes to Haitian dignity, pride, and respect, her characters demand it. Again, like in Bad Feminist, there is humour in the tale as well, particularly in the short chapter about her father's thick Haitian accent, or the young Haitian immigrant, Gerard, who faces accusations of H.B.O. in his American school. The best 'treat' of the story collection, however, is her early form of An Untamed State lacking the depth and character background of the novel, as well as without the sordid details of Miri's rape and torture while kidnapped.

Bad Feminist

Everyone should read Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay for cultural and feminist criticism. She has a gift with words and retains her humor throughout. She even manages to make subject matter that would usually bore me to death interesting or engaging, such as the essay exploring her love for competitive Scrabble. Who would would have thought Scrabble could be so entertaining, funny, and meaningful? She also grapples with issues of body, sexism, rape culture, popular culture, film, and race, illustrating that no topic is beyond her grasp. She deftly critiques films dealing with slavery or black history (The Help, Django Unchained, 12 Years a Slave), analyzes popular literature (including the seemingly meaningless or trite, such as Fifty Shades of Grey or The Hunger Games) and manages to find depth and merit in all.

She weaves together her own life story with several chapters, thereby inviting the reader to see how we are all a collection of messy contradictions that make us 'bad feminists,' therefore offering a way for us all to embrace ideals espousing gender equality while remaining human. Thus, Gay can enjoy or at least accept that listening to misogynistic lyrics in popular music, or feeling fettered by some gender stereotypes, does not disqualify one from being a feminist. In addition, she critiques classism, heteronormativity, racism, and other flaws in much of mainstream feminism, while remaining open-minded and calling for building bridges. Perhaps the only flaw in the text was not due to the author, but my own ignorance of much popular culture, which made some essays a challenge to 'get' because I knew nothing of the subject matter. Nonetheless, Gay's style stayed accessible throughout, a true triumph. Moreover, Gay gave me her copy of the text!

Seeing Roxane Gay

I had the rare fortune of meeting and hearing Roxane Gay speak this week. It was a beautiful opportunity, and free at a local bookstore. Gay spoke for a little less than 90 minutes about popular culture, her essays, her love for The Hunger Games, sexism, and the need for open dialogue among different waves of feminism to strengthen the 'ocean.' In short, she was brilliant, down to earth, accessible, humorous, and warm. Although I had only read An Untamed State, I knew right away this is a writer whose nonfiction and fiction writing go hand in hand, especially since both share her gift for storytelling. After the talk, I endeavored to purchase her Bad Feminist to get an autograph but, alas, the store sold out quickly. Being the amazing person that she is, Roxane Gay gave me a copy of her book for free and was glad to meet fellow Haitians! I also asked her about how her Haitian background shaped her feminism and briefly discussed how An Untamed State was semi-autobiographical with great delight. I knew as my mother and I happily left the bookstore that tonight would be one of the highlights of the summer.

An Untamed State

An Untamed State did not live up to some of the hype I had read about. It was certainly one of the most harrowing accounts of a kidnap and sexual violence I have ever read, but I felt that the novel was lacking a certain 'oomph' in other areas. Basically, the strongest prose and detail from the novel comes from Mireille's captivity, her reflections on her life in that hellish, untamed state, and the whirlwind of emotions, mindgames, and events that eventually lead to her liberation. Perhaps I am expecting too much from this novel, which is clearly about the prevalence of sexism and rape culture as well as the cages inside cages inside cages we experience, regardless of being kidnapped, but I would have liked to learn more about the details of the negotiations Sebastien Duval went through with the Commander, Laurent. It would have been very useful to learn more of the particularities of the ransom and deal reached between Mireille's father and her kidnappers, especially since it would show how much he values his youngest child's life (it must have been under one million US dollars, but no figure or number is shared after Mireille's 13 days of hell end).

Anyway, the second half of the book looks at Mireille's experiences with post-traumatic stress syndrome, coping with her injuries, feeling a permanent sense of danger and fear about men, and gaining some recovery, although she will never be the same. She never truly reconciles with her father after allowing her torment to last nearly a fortnight, but she makes peace and truly acknowledges how the US is her home, her identity. In some ways, it's quite a horrifying way for a Haitian-American to become 'American,' after undergoing several days in the Inferno, to be so irrevocably removed from her parents' identity and longing for 'home.' Throughout the novel, commentary on rape, sexualized violence, and the danger Mireille experiences in the US certainly belies Fabienne's point, however, that "Mr. America" (Mireille's husband, Michael) has a very selective memory of the US, since poverty and sexual violence occur there in ways that endanger Mireille, too. Thus, a woman is always in danger when around men, and Mireille's rupture from her former self includes a rupture with Haiti, the childhood home away from home she cherishes. One should certainly read this novel, and appreciate it as one of several examples of the flourishing, nascent Haitian-American literature.

Haiti Noir 2

Funny, I just finished reading Haiti Noir 2 today, and Kreyolicious has a short review up! This collection was not as interesting as the first, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading translated works by some of the best in Haitian literature, such as Jacques Roumain and Ida Faubert. In addition, the reader is treated to a short story by Roxane Gay that has me dying to read her recently published novel. Perhaps due to the inclusion of writers from various epochs in Haitian history, one feels that the great diversity of 20th century and 21st century Haitian history is represented here, including political allusions (the Duvalier dictatorship and Aristide), recent troubles (the rise of kidnappings, sex tourism and gang violence), and class dynamics of Haitian society over time. Overall, my favorite selections were by the following writers: Jacques-Stephen Alexis, Jan J. Dominique, Ida Faubert, Roxane Gay, Dany Laferriere, and Roxane Gay. Check here for my brief thoughts on the first installment of Haiti Noir.