By HMI Magazine Staff | Source: New York Public Library (NYPL)
A Celebration of Haiti’s Literary Powerhouse
NEW YORK — Haiti’s literary legacy continues to flourish on both sides of the ocean. From the revolutionary pens of earlier generations to today’s rising voices in fiction, poetry, and young adult literature, Haitian and Haitian American authors continue to be a force in world literature, telling stories of resilience, migration, and rediscovery.
The New York Public Library (NYPL) recently compiled an updated list of books written by Haitian and Haitian American authors, a collection that spans genres and generations. The works, available in print and digital formats, invite readers into the layered experiences of Haitian life, from the bustling streets of Port-au-Prince to the immigrant enclaves of Brooklyn and Miami.
Stories That Bridge Two Worlds
Among the featured titles is Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat, a novel that has become a modern classic. It follows Sophie Caco, a young girl who journeys from Haiti to New York and must reconcile her past with her future. Danticat’s prose is poetic and unflinching, capturing both trauma and triumph in equal measure.
Fabienne Josaphat’s The Kingdom of No Tomorrow shifts the lens to 1968 Oakland, where a young Haitian woman becomes entangled in the politics of the Black Panthers. Josaphat also revisits Haiti’s Duvalier era in Dancing in the Baron’s Shadow, exploring how oppression can fracture and unite a nation’s people.
Katia D. Ulysse’s Mouths Don’t Speak paints a gripping portrait of displacement after the 2010 earthquake, while Dimitry Elias Léger’s God Loves Haiti captures the same tragedy through a sweeping love story of faith and survival.
Francesca Momplaisir adds two contemporary psychological dramas to the list, My Mother’s House and The Garden of Broken Things, which examine the darker corners of the immigrant experience and the emotional weight of return.
Haiti Remembered and Reimagined
Other notable works, like Village Weavers by Myriam J.A. Chancy and Sweet Undoings by Yanick Lahens, delve into Haiti’s history and spirit through lyrical storytelling. Lahens’ novel captures the pulse of Port-au-Prince, where love and violence intertwine in haunting beauty.
Rene Depestre’s Hadriana in All My Dreams, set during the carnival in Jacmel, remains a literary gem of magical realism. It’s a poetic blend of folklore and desire that has secured Depestre’s place among Haiti’s literary icons.
Elsie Augustave’s The Roving Tree explores identity and belonging as a Haitian child adopted into a white American family seeks to reconnect with her roots. Meanwhile, Évelyne Trouillot’s Memory at Bay offers a daring dual narrative between a dictator’s widow and the caretaker whose family suffered under his regime.
Kettly Mars’s Savage Seasons revisits the political terror of the 1960s, and Marie Chauvet’s Dance on the Volcano gives readers a window into Haiti’s revolutionary past through the eyes of two sisters navigating race, class, and resistance.
New Voices for a New Generation
Haitian American authors continue to shine in the young adult literary scene, reflecting the next chapter of diaspora storytelling.
In American Street, Ibi Zoboi tells the story of a teenage girl from Port-au-Prince as she adjusts to life in Detroit. At the same time, (S) kin, written in verse, reimagines Caribbean folklore in a tale of transformation and identity.
Sisters Maika and Maritza Moulite bring humor and heart to Dear Haiti, Love Alaine and One of the Good Ones, where Haitian teens confront family curses and social justice struggles in modern America.
Debbie Rigaud’s Simone Breaks All the Rules and A Girl’s Guide to Love & Magic celebrate Haitian pride through stories of friendship, freedom, and culture. Nadine Pinede’s When the Mapou Sings adds another layer, a coming-of-age story rooted in Haiti’s fight for education and empowerment.
Short Stories, Poetry, and the Pulse of Haiti
Roxane Gay’s Ayiti and Juliana Lamy’s You Were Watching from the Sand capture the Haitian diaspora through vivid short stories that blend humor, heartbreak, and haunting realism.
In poetry, Lenelle Moise’s Haiti Glass speaks with rhythm and rebellion, moving between Boston’s immigrant streets and the soul of Haiti. Jean Métellus’s When the Pipirite Sings, translated from French, brings lyrical reflection on colonialism, identity, and Haiti’s undying resilience.
Collective Voices: The Haiti Noir Series
Edited by Edwidge Danticat, the Haiti Noir and Haiti Noir 2: The Classics anthologies gather the country’s finest storytellers, from Yanick Lahens and Gary Victor to M.J. Fievre and Kettly Mars. Together, they form a collective portrait of Haitian life, where even in darkness, creativity thrives.
A Nation Told Through Its Words
The NYPL’s literary list serves as both a reading guide and a cultural reminder: Haitian literature is not merely written, it is lived, sung, and remembered. Across generations and languages, these authors prove that the Haitian voice cannot be silenced. It continues to evolve, teaching the world about endurance, migration, and the profound beauty that arises from struggle.
To read Haitian literature is to experience history in motion, each book, a bridge between the island’s past and the global future it continues to inspire.
Source: New York Public Library (NYPL), “Books by Haitian & Haitian American Authors,” originally published May 12, 2021; updated April 30, 2025.
