What would it mean to reorient the study of Haitian literature toward ethics rather than the themes of politics, engagement, disaster, or catastrophe? Looking for Other Worlds engages with this question from a distinct feminist perspective and, in the process, discovers a revelatory lens through which we can productively read the work of contemporary Haitian writers.

In this chapter the author constructs an alternate way of teaching about Haitian womanhood which creates a more nuanced and developed understanding of the many lives Haitian women may lead. The Kreyol saying “fanm se poto mitan” is well known in Haiti to mean that women are the central pillar that uphold society, they are indispensable, strong and resilient. However, Jean-Charles argues that the poto mitan is a restrictive representation of Haitian women that expresses the burdens that they must take on as the unwavering pillar.

Conflict Bodies: The Politics of Rape Representation in the Francophone Imaginary explores the relationship between rape and narratives of violence in francophone literature and culture. The book offers ways to account for the raped bodies beneath the conflicts of slavery, genocide, dictatorship, natural disasters and war―and to examine why doing so is necessary.

The author argues that the sustained representation of rape purposefully draws our attention to gendered violence that has often been obscured in favour of broader forms of violence (in the forms of slavery, dictatorships, coups, occupations, etc.). Moreover, this paper deals with a writer whose approach to sexual violence also unveils its occurrence outside of contexts that are overtly political.