The Legacy of Haitian Writer Jacques Roumain: Saturday February 23rd

The special thing about "black" as Black British cultural critic Kobena Mercer pointed out about 15 years ago, is the term embraces the diaspora. OK, yeah, things can get crowded during "Black History Month. ." So, be grateful it's a leap year and we get additional day this year. Of course, since black is also a year-round reality there's no reason why anyone is limited to a mere month of acknowledgment.

• Saturday, February 23
The Legacy of Jacques Roumain
7:30 pm
@ The Brecht Forum
Co-sponsor: Haitian-American Cultural Development Network
451 West Street (West Side Highway) between Bank & Bethune Streets
New York, NY
Tel: (212) 242-4201
Email: brechtforum at brechtforum.org
Sliding scale: $6/$10/$15
Free for Brecht Forum Subscribers
Directions


The Legacy of Jacques Roumain
"An Evening of Music & Song, Poetry & Spoken Words Gordon Blaise, Jean Dumas Gay, Brunel Joseph, Rudgie Phadael, Michelle Samedi, Kettly Souffrant, & Reginal Souffrant

"Jacques Roumain (1907-1944) was Haiti's most celebrated writer; his output of poetry and verse was prodigious and his novel, Masters of the Dew (Gouverneurs de la Rosée), has been translated into seventeen languages. In addition to his literary work, Roumain was well-known and respected for his political activism, particularly his leadership in the struggle to end the US occupation of Haiti. He was instrumental in founding the Haitian Communist Party in 1934 and, as a result of his activities, was frequently persecuted, arrested and eventually forced into exile. Langston Hughes regarded Roumain as one of the greatest writers of the Americas, and had penned a whimsical, yet poignant, account of the only meeting he and Roumain had together, which took place on the deck of a tramp steamer, on which Hughes was a passenger, minutes before it pulled out of port.

"Join the Brecht Forum and members of the Haitian-American Cultural Development Network (HACDEN) in a celebration of the life and legacy of Jacques Roumainthrough music and song, poetry and spoken words."


PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
A, C, E or L to 14th Street & 8th Ave, walk down 8th Ave. to Bethune, turn
right, walk west to the River, turn left
1, 2, 3 or 9 to 14th Street & 7th Ave, get off at south end of station, walk
west on 12th Street to 8th Ave. left to Bethune, turn right, walk west to the
River, turn left.
PATH Train to Christopher Street north on Greenwich St to Bank Street, left
to the river.
#11 or #20 Bus to Abingdon Square, west on Bethune
#14A or #14D Bus to 8th Ave & 14th Street, walk down 8th Ave. and west on
Bethune to the river
#8 Bus to 10th & West Streets