Papa Legba’s Steadfast Daughter

Papa Legba’s Steadfast Daughter
Author: Jeanne E. Northrop
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2019-10-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1796063126

It is 1994 and New Orleans is the Murder Capitol of the United States. It is late summer, and the air is heavy with humidity, perfume, and portent. The 82nd Airborne awaits orders to once again liberate Haiti from a CIA-trained cadre, this time those who ousted Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the democratically elected President of the country. A young Haitian-trained Voodou priestess, Taya DuChamps is murdered in New Orleans. Her Catholic teenaged daughter Layla is unexpectedly abducted to Haiti. Amidst this escalating chaos, Taya’s family and friends must put aside their personal grief and prejudices to attempt to rescue Layla before the entire country succumbs to anarchy. Set against the magical and dangerous backdrops of the most interesting of Caribbean nations and the most Caribbean city in the United States, Papa Legba’s Steadfast Daughter is an inquiry into what constitutes belief and how women have managed to survive against incredible odds.

The Faces of the Gods

The Faces of the Gods
Author: Leslie G. Desmangles
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2000-11-09
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0807861014

Vodou, the folk religion of Haiti, is a by-product of the contact between Roman Catholicism and African and Amerindian traditional religions. In this book, Leslie Desmangles analyzes the mythology and rituals of Vodou, focusing particularly on the inclusion of West African and European elements in Vodouisants' beliefs and practices. Desmangles sees Vodou not simply as a grafting of European religious traditions onto African stock, but as a true creole phenomenon, born out of the oppressive conditions of slavery and the necessary adaptation of slaves to a New World environment. Desmangles uses Haitian history to explain this phenomenon, paying particular attention to the role of the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century maroon communities in preserving African traditions and the attempts by the Catholic, educated elite to suppress African-based "superstitions." The result is a society in which one religion, Catholicism, is visible and official; the other, Vodou, is unofficial and largely secretive.

High Tide in Tucson

High Tide in Tucson
Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2003
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 9780060927561

"There is no one quite like Barbara Kingsolver in contemporary literature," raves the Washington Post Book World, and it is right. She has been nominated three times for the ABBY award, and her critically acclaimed writings consistently enjoy spectacular commercial success as they entertain and touch her legions of loyal fans. In High Tide in Tucson, she returnsto her familiar themes of family, community, the common good and the natural world. The title essay considers Buster, a hermit crab that accidentally stows away on Kingsolver's return trip from the Bahamas to her desert home, and turns out to have manic-depressive tendencies. Buster is running around for all he's worth -- one can only presume it's high tide in Tucson. Kingsolver brings a moral vision and refreshing sense of humor to subjects ranging from modern motherhood to the history of private property to the suspended citizenship of human beings in the Animal Kingdom. Beautifully packaged, with original illustrations by well-known illustrator Paul Mirocha, these wise lessons on the urgent business of being alive make it a perfect gift for Kingsolver's many fans.

Sacred Possessions

Sacred Possessions
Author: Margarite Fernández Olmos
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Total Pages: 328
Release: 1997
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780813523613

For review see: Joseph M. Murphy, in HAHR : The Hispanic American Historical Review, 78, 3 (August 1998); p. 495-496.

Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses

Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses
Author: Michael Jordan
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2014-05-14
Genre: Goddesses
ISBN: 1438109857

Presents brief entries describing the gods and goddesses from the mythology and religion of a wide variety of cultures throughout history.

The Haiti Reader

The Haiti Reader
Author: Laurent Dubois
Publisher: Duke University Press Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2020-01-20
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 9781478006770

While Haiti established the second independent nation in the Western Hemisphere and was the first black country to gain independence from European colonizers, its history is not well known in the Anglophone world. The Haiti Reader introduces readers to Haiti's dynamic history and culture from the viewpoint of Haitians from all walks of life. Its dozens of selections—most of which appear here in English for the first time—are representative of Haiti's scholarly, literary, religious, visual, musical, and political cultures, and range from poems, novels, and political tracts to essays, legislation, songs, and folk tales. Spanning the centuries between precontact indigenous Haiti and the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, the Reader covers widely known episodes in Haiti's history, such as the U.S. military occupation and the Duvalier dictatorship, as well as overlooked periods such as the decades immediately following Haiti's “second independence” in 1934. Whether examining issues of political upheaval, the environment, or modernization, The Haiti Reader provides an unparalleled look at Haiti's history, culture, and politics.

Pride

Pride
Author: Ibi Zoboi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2018-09-18
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0062564072

In a timely update of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic. A smart, funny, gorgeous retelling starring all characters of color. Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable. When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding. But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape, or lose it all. "Zoboi skillfully depicts the vicissitudes of teenage relationships, and Zuri’s outsize pride and poetic sensibility make her a sympathetic teenager in a contemporary story about race, gentrification, and young love." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List")