Krik…. Krak!
The above call and response is deeply rooted in Haitian culture, and it’s a sign that a story or riddle is about to be told.
Janjak ak Freda manje kenep nan Mache an Fè.
Courtesy of Light Messages Publishing.
Stories play an important role in how we perceive the world, and coming from the United States we might take for granted how many stories are written for us, in our native language, and with our education in mind.
While a strong oral tradition continues in Haiti, a tradition that represents an irreplaceable source of knowledge and a highly necessary mechanism for preserving culture, as Haiti continues to push for higher literacy rates there is no doubt that books written for Haitian children in their native Kreyòl are in short supply.
With that, we are excited to announce that next week we will be posting our interview with Children’s Author: Elizabeth Turnbull.
Elizabeth is the author of the Janjak & Freda series, a bilingual story written in both Haitian Creole and English. She is also the author of other children’s books like Bonnwit Kabrit.
Please join us next week to see what Elizabeth has to say about Janjak & Freda, her inspiration behind the story and why writing a Creole-English bilingual book was so important to her.
by Erin Nguyen on October 9, 2014