Time to discover American literature.

Ernest Hemingway,

My knowledge of American literature is pretty restrictive. My literature classes focused only in French and Haitian literature. It happened that we discovered sometimes a writer that doesn't belong to either Haitian or French literature. I think the problem is due to a linguistic question, and also to the supremacy of French literature in Haiti. We were convinced that the French did better in philosophy and literature than other nations in modern times. In our mind, the nation that was really in competition was Germany. We didn't neglect Britain.

I think these reasons might explain my paucity of knowledge of the American literature. But later, I expand my mind to other literary influences. And actually, I read a lot of authors from different countries. But, beyond some authors like Edgar.A.Poe, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, my paucity of knowledge of American literature still remains obvious. And the fact is also I'm not very familiar with the American authors I just mentioned. I read a little bit of E. A. Poe, J. Steinbeck, and Hemingway, but it was in french.

Actually, I'm very curious to discover these authors seriously. I've only risked a glimpse in one or two of their works, and I'm convinced of their literary greatness.For Hemingway for example, "The old man and the sea" or "For whom the Bell tolls", are books that I plan to discover soon in English.

Michael (Mika) Benjamin, portrait of talented and young artist.

Michael(Mika) Benjamin, portrait of a young and talented Haitian artist.

Mika belongs to the young generation. He grew up in a musical environment. Lionel Benjamin, his father, as a singer-musician, was very appreciated by the anterior generation, even actually by young in my generation who appreciate elaborated and classical music. Everyone remember the seductive Christmas' songs of Lionel Benjamin.

Thus, Mika follows his father's footsteps as slaves who aspired to freedom, "followed the Drinking Gourd". And the result is astonishing. Then, like his father again he conquers the two sides that compose the public: the old and the young generation. I consider him as a kind of transformer. If we consider the heart of his two categories of fans as a medal, we can say that he erases every negative side to obtain only positive side. So, Mika is looking at the two sides of the ledger, except both are particularly positive in his situation.

I think it's really funny when I see my mother singing Mika Christmas' and others songs. Mika has been playing in a goup of "compas" called "Krezi Mizik", until recently. The goup has just been broken up last month . I don't know actually if he will pursue a solo career. Whatever it happens, I wish good luck to him.

Michael (Mika) Benjamin, portrait of talented and young artist.

Frankétienne, the sacred monster of the contemporary haitian literature.

Frankétienne, the sacred monster of the Haitian contemporary literature.

Poet, novelist, dramatist, painter and musician, Franck belongs to this category of artists who , stimulated by an unquenchable creative thirst , extend the prolific breath of their inspiration to the diverse and varied artistic fields. He's born in Artibonite county, in Haiti in April 12, 1936 after her mother was raped by a white man.

Frankétienne uses a very original, complex, multidimensional literary approach. His piece is based on the notion of " spiral" which he defines as " an absolute structure that reproduces the infinite movement of the reality by the triple process of the thesis, the antithesis, and the synthesis." The author , follower of the "spiralism" highlights the affinities that exist between the spiral and the aesthetic or the theory of chaos. This theory, at the opposite of the traditional scientific theories that propose a restrictive vision of the reality, due exclusively to a Cartesian method, introduces us to a vision of a much less amplified reality. This revolution way of thinking is due to the discoveries of the quantum physics,(Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein) and besides of the fractal geometry.

These discoveries lead to talk about the spirituality of the matter, and about the materiality of the mind. Franck himself, especially in his poetry, mentions that he calls the "exfoliation of the imaginary" as a method that can allow us to grasp the infinite diversity of this multidimensional phenomenon that life is.

Franck writes in French and Creole. For instance, " Dézafi" is the first novel written in Haitian Creole." Foukifoura", " Bobomasouri", are also important creole writings that he writes. His work is pretty vast. " Au fil du temps", " Mur à crever", " Galaxie-Chaos-Babel" , "Ultravocal" and " La méduse orpheline" are some realizations of the vast work of Frankétienne. "Prince Claus Award in Holland", "Grand prix du livre insulaire d'Ouessant", " Prix Union Latine de Littératures Romanes" are also some awards that this author has collected. He was also a serious candidate for the last Nobel Prize in Literature. Unfortunately, the prize was obtained by the french writer J.M Le Clézio.

I'm aware that it is not so easy to discuss about an artist of the caliber of Frankétienne. His work is too vast, too complex to be explained in a short time in a short text written by a young student. What I did is simply to try to present on the limits of my capacities the main ideas that compose the structure of the works of Frankétienne. You can make deeper your knowledge of this great artist by reading his own books , and also by reading the important specialized works that are written about him and his work.

Share a cultural tradition

I haven't shared an important cultural tradition with someone since I've arrived in the United States. I just remember when I've been listening briefly a type of Haitian music called "rasin" with my classmates (they were from Ecuador, Mexico, and South Korea), and my teacher in my American culture class recently.

Thus, the cultural tradition I would like to share with someone is "rara". " Rara" and "rasin" belong both to the same categories of music. They're deeply anchored in the popular culture of the country , and consist in a kind of vehicle of the Haitian "folklore". Then, "vodoo",( Haitian religion), and popular culture are the dominant elements of the "rasin" music. Besides, haitian people use this kind of music to express their political, and social problems.

Language: the soul of culture.

Language is a major cultural feature. When you learn a new language, you absorb automatically a lot of significant elements of a new culture. Thus, since I came here, I grasp different aspects of American culture quite simply by learning English.

Now, I really understand that you can grasp the mental structures of a human group by learning his language. Personally, to discover the American culture in general represents an important enrichment. In my opinion, Anglo-Saxon people think differently from people who are mostly influenced by Latin culture. Since I was child, I went to schools that followed french patterns. Actually, to evolve in an American academic environment requires a great calling into question. I think that the transition is a little bit sudden.

Although, I appreciate to discover new cultures. I'm not afraid to experiment the American culture; I'm rather excited. But, I'm just expecting the experience to be realized in the respect of each culture, by pushing aside every ethnocentric attitude.

First impressions about class

I've just started with the August Intercession class today. First, I note that the Cross Cultural Awareness course tends to be more practical than the American Culture course that I followed the last summer. It seems that it focuses not only on the academic aspects of the student's life, but it also includes many other activities that they regularly practice out of the sphere of their purely academic life. Moreover, it seems that the main goal is to give students capacity or ability to communicate better with people that they may encounter in different places on campus as Johnson Commons, the Library, the Union, the IEP, etc.

Including these differences, the both courses although share something in common. They're essentially based on culture. "Culture" is the principal subject over which they're both shaped or conceived. Finally, American Culture and Cross Cultural Awareness are complementary courses.