Distributed for Carnegie Mellon University Press
Konbit
Poems that capture a transformative and visionary way of life in Haiti.
Konbit is a Haitian Creole word, a way of living, for which there is no direct translation in the English language. It captures the communal life in Haiti and is used for every event where neighbors are called upon to help each other. These poems revolve around the Bois-Caïman ceremony (the first konbit) when enslaved people in Saint-Domingue vowed to fight for their independence. The ceremony is both real and a stand-in for climate change. Like our society, everything around enslaved people in Saint-Domingue was created to uphold the status quo. Imagining an alternative would have been seen as futile. Yet, they did. This collection is an attempt to do the same, to imagine a future beyond colonialism, imperialism, and climate catastrophe. With poems influenced by and in conversation with Tyehimba Jess, Natasha Trethewey, Derek Walcott, Shara McCallum, and Adrian Matejka, Sony Ton-Aime aims to provide a new language to articulate our common past, present, and future.
Konbit is a Haitian Creole word, a way of living, for which there is no direct translation in the English language. It captures the communal life in Haiti and is used for every event where neighbors are called upon to help each other. These poems revolve around the Bois-Caïman ceremony (the first konbit) when enslaved people in Saint-Domingue vowed to fight for their independence. The ceremony is both real and a stand-in for climate change. Like our society, everything around enslaved people in Saint-Domingue was created to uphold the status quo. Imagining an alternative would have been seen as futile. Yet, they did. This collection is an attempt to do the same, to imagine a future beyond colonialism, imperialism, and climate catastrophe. With poems influenced by and in conversation with Tyehimba Jess, Natasha Trethewey, Derek Walcott, Shara McCallum, and Adrian Matejka, Sony Ton-Aime aims to provide a new language to articulate our common past, present, and future.
Reviews
Table of Contents
Part I
The Seer Sits on the Ground
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Seer Foresees the Following Events
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Boukman Says Goodbye to His Master
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Seer Predicts Boukman’s Death
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Toussaint, in a Ballade, Helped His Master Flee
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
A Mother Sends Her Son Off
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Rain on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
A Mistress in Bed with Her Husband
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Fatiman Contemplates the Knife
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Fatiman’s Parents Chide the Child
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Seer Foresees Frantz Fanon
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Toussaint Justifies Saving His Master
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Death on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Hope on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Birthday on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Pidgin—Nationxx
On the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremony God Appearsxx
Fatiman Spells Out Her Name to Secure the Pig
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Seer Muses Over Toussaint Louverture
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
To Be Young on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Making Love on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Seer Cannot Say What Happened
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Part II
On the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
A Business Lesson on the Day of the Bois Caïmanxx
To Be Optimistic in a Dying Worldxx
The Circle Closes
on the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Kinanm vs. Pam
on the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Attending a Wake
on the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremony xx
In the ’80s the US Destroyed Haiti’s Rice Culture xx
The Seer Foresees Jacques Stephen Alexis
on the Eve of the Bois Caïmanxx
A Mistress in Bed with Her Mistress
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Seer Addresses the Poet
on the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Inheritancexx
History-lessxx
Rotten xx
Matriphagyxx
Aid Staff Would Pay More xx
Vanishing Torso xx
On the Massacre River Bridge
on the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
1994xx
Braidedxx
Konbitxx
To a Son on His Fourteenth Birthdayxx
The Charcoal Makerxx
Asilexx
Icexx
Perejil xx
Necklacingxx
Fear Felt Up North
on the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Good Master Explains Things
on the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Part III
On the Day After the Bois Caïman Ceremony, Godxx
On the Day After the Bois Caïman Ceremony xx
On the Day After the Bois Caïman Ceremony,
César Vallejo Spokexx
The More Things Change on the Day After
the Bois Caïman Ceremony xx
The Earth Elegy on the Day After
the Bois Caïman Ceremony xx
Praise the Colony Built on the Day After
the Bois Caïman Ceremony xx
En Un Clin d’Oeilxx
On the Day After the Bois Caïman Ceremony
a Baby Becomes a Woman in a City
that Becomes a Country then Becomes a Life xx
The Seer Sits on the Ground
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Seer Foresees the Following Events
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Boukman Says Goodbye to His Master
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Seer Predicts Boukman’s Death
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Toussaint, in a Ballade, Helped His Master Flee
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
A Mother Sends Her Son Off
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Rain on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
A Mistress in Bed with Her Husband
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Fatiman Contemplates the Knife
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Fatiman’s Parents Chide the Child
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Seer Foresees Frantz Fanon
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Toussaint Justifies Saving His Master
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Death on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Hope on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Birthday on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Pidgin—Nationxx
On the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremony God Appearsxx
Fatiman Spells Out Her Name to Secure the Pig
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Seer Muses Over Toussaint Louverture
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
To Be Young on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Making Love on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Seer Cannot Say What Happened
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Part II
On the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
A Business Lesson on the Day of the Bois Caïmanxx
To Be Optimistic in a Dying Worldxx
The Circle Closes
on the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Kinanm vs. Pam
on the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Attending a Wake
on the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremony xx
In the ’80s the US Destroyed Haiti’s Rice Culture xx
The Seer Foresees Jacques Stephen Alexis
on the Eve of the Bois Caïmanxx
A Mistress in Bed with Her Mistress
on the Eve of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Seer Addresses the Poet
on the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Inheritancexx
History-lessxx
Rotten xx
Matriphagyxx
Aid Staff Would Pay More xx
Vanishing Torso xx
On the Massacre River Bridge
on the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
1994xx
Braidedxx
Konbitxx
To a Son on His Fourteenth Birthdayxx
The Charcoal Makerxx
Asilexx
Icexx
Perejil xx
Necklacingxx
Fear Felt Up North
on the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
The Good Master Explains Things
on the Day of the Bois Caïman Ceremonyxx
Part III
On the Day After the Bois Caïman Ceremony, Godxx
On the Day After the Bois Caïman Ceremony xx
On the Day After the Bois Caïman Ceremony,
César Vallejo Spokexx
The More Things Change on the Day After
the Bois Caïman Ceremony xx
The Earth Elegy on the Day After
the Bois Caïman Ceremony xx
Praise the Colony Built on the Day After
the Bois Caïman Ceremony xx
En Un Clin d’Oeilxx
On the Day After the Bois Caïman Ceremony
a Baby Becomes a Woman in a City
that Becomes a Country then Becomes a Life xx