AP English class speaks with bestselling author Edwidge Danticat
On Monday, February 1st, Mrs. Ewing’s AP English class participated in a video conference with bestselling author Edwidge Danticat.
Edwidge Danticat is a Haitian-American novelist and short story writer. Her first novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory, was published in 1994 and went on to become an Oprah’s Book Club selection. Since then, Danticat has been nominated for the National Book Award twice and won a National Books Critics Circle Award. Farragut’s AP English class recently read her short story, “The Book of the Dead,” in their AP English textbook.
“I have been a huge fan of Ms. Danticat’s work for years,” said Mrs. Ewing. “The first time I saw her speak was at the Festival of Reading where she was promoting her stunning novel Claire of the Sea Light. It was incredible for the students to speak to an author that is in their textbook.”
For the video conference, each student prepared a question for Danticat. The questions’ topics ranged from her inspirations, her education, her background, and her Haitian heritage, the latter of which informs much of her writing. There were even a few curveballs. Ansley Fine ‘21, for instance, asked, “I once heard a quote about how James Joyce knew his characters so well that he would be able to say how much change is in his/her pockets. How much change would you say is in Ka’s pockets during her road trip and why that amount?” Danticat responded that she’d never thought about that before and that the character likely had a credit card. She went on to say that it would be on her mind in the future.
“Ms. Danticat is a best-selling author that, frankly, I am surprised I could reach by email,” Mrs. Ewing said. “I am deeply honored that she agreed to field questions from our students.”
