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The Caribbean island of Hispaniola is home to historic, ongoing strife between two countries deeply divided by race, language, and history yet forced constantly into confrontation by their shared geography. In her first book, American journalist Michele Wucker reports from both Haiti and the Dominican Republic on the complex relations between these two cultures and sheds light on the sources of their struggles both in their island home and in the United States.
This book is charged from the start with the violence and posturing of blood sport, as Wucker observes her first Haitian cockfight: "The air cracks with the impact of stiffened feathers as each bird tries to push the other to the ground. Around the ring, the Haitian men shout to one another and wave dirty wads of gourdes in the air, seeking bets.... Soon, the feathers of both cocks are slick with blood." Popular in both countries, these fights become a totemic image for the author, who finds in them, as in the many clashes between Hispaniola's two cultures, "both division and community, opposite sides of the same coin." This is a fine historical primer, buoyed along by Wucker's graceful, observant prose style. --Maria Dolan -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
From Library Journal
Two countries are found on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. The Dominican Republic is Spanish-speaking and mixed-race; Haiti is Francophone and black. Though there are important similarities in the two populations, their differences are more significant. Wucker, a freelance journalist, examines the cultural divide between the two neighbors from the colonial period to the present. She suggests that the root of the conflict is the politically sensitive issue of immigration from Haiti to the Dominican Republic and argues that the racial differences between the two populations intensify the problem. Of interest to public libraries serving these two populations and research libraries with Caribbean collections.?Mark L. Grover, Brigham Young Univ. Lib., Provo, UT
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
Pressestimmen
"A complex exploration of the cultural divide between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Wucker . . . weaves together five centuries of tragic conflict with a subtle picture of the island today."--Patrick Markee, The New York Times Book Review
"A richly textured social history of Hispaniola . . . . A powerful cultural analysis."--Kirkus Reviews
"Impeccably researched history made current and more meaningful by first rate reporting."--Barbara Fischkin, author of Muddy Cup: A Dominican Family Comes of Age in a New America
"A delightful yet disturbingly relevant book . . . The economic, political and geographical struggles vividly occurring on Hispaniola are a microcosm of what happens all over the world."--Michael Hopkins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Wucker peels away layers of history and culture, revealing aspects of Dominican and Haitian culture few have described so clearly. Well crafted, lucidly told, and full of insight.."--Rob Ruck, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A rich cultural history."--Ken Moore, Naples Daily News
"A richly textured social history of Hispaniola . . . . A powerful cultural analysis."--Kirkus Reviews
"Impeccably researched history made current and more meaningful by first rate reporting."--Barbara Fischkin, author of Muddy Cup: A Dominican Family Comes of Age in a New America
"A delightful yet disturbingly relevant book . . . The economic, political and geographical struggles vividly occurring on Hispaniola are a microcosm of what happens all over the world."--Michael Hopkins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Wucker peels away layers of history and culture, revealing aspects of Dominican and Haitian culture few have described so clearly. Well crafted, lucidly told, and full of insight.."--Rob Ruck, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A rich cultural history."--Ken Moore, Naples Daily News
Kurzbeschreibung
Like two roosters in a fighting arena, Haiti and the Dominican Republic are encircled by barriers of geography and poverty. They co-inhabit the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, but their histories are as deeply divided as their cultures: one French-speaking and black, one Spanish-speaking and mulatto. Yet, despite their antagonism, the two countries share a national symbol in the rooster--and a fundamental activity and favorite sport in the cockfight. In this book, Michele Wucker asks: "If the symbols that dominate a culture accurately express a nation's character, what kind of a country draws so heavily on images of cockfighting and roosters, birds bred to be aggressive? What does it mean when not one but two countries that are neighbors choose these symbols? Why do the cocks fight, and why do humans watch and glorify them?"
Wucker studies the cockfight ritual in considerable detail, focusing as much on the customs and histories of these two nations as on their contemporary lifestyles and politics. Her well-cited and comprehensive volume also explores the relations of each nation toward the United States, which twice invaded both Haiti (in 1915 and 1994) and the Dominican Republic (in 1916 and 1965) during the twentieth century. Just as the owners of gamecocks contrive battles between their birds as a way of playing out human conflicts, Wucker argues, Haitian and Dominican leaders often stir up nationalist disputes and exaggerate their cultural and racial differences as a way of deflecting other kinds of turmoil. Thus Why the Cocks Fight highlights the factors in Caribbean history that still affect Hispaniola today, including the often contradictory policies of the U.S.
Wucker studies the cockfight ritual in considerable detail, focusing as much on the customs and histories of these two nations as on their contemporary lifestyles and politics. Her well-cited and comprehensive volume also explores the relations of each nation toward the United States, which twice invaded both Haiti (in 1915 and 1994) and the Dominican Republic (in 1916 and 1965) during the twentieth century. Just as the owners of gamecocks contrive battles between their birds as a way of playing out human conflicts, Wucker argues, Haitian and Dominican leaders often stir up nationalist disputes and exaggerate their cultural and racial differences as a way of deflecting other kinds of turmoil. Thus Why the Cocks Fight highlights the factors in Caribbean history that still affect Hispaniola today, including the often contradictory policies of the U.S.
Der Verlag über das Buch
Advance Praise for Michele Wucker
"Michele Wucker writes about contemporary politics the way it should be done -- with a deep and thorough root in history. Unifying several different ways of thinking about a complex subject, WHY THE COCKS FIGHT is an exemplary book." --Madison Smartt Bell "The island Columbus called Hispaniola was first divided by a cruel and invasive history into two ill-fitting pieces, a split that remains virulently alive to the Haitians and Dominicans who inhabit it today. Using the vivid imagery of the cockfight, Michele Wucker moves in and out of these conflicting realitities with insight and compassion, skillfully unraveling both the ambiguities of the past and the antipathies of the turbulent present. I have not read as spellbinding a book in a long time." --Alastair Reid -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
"Michele Wucker writes about contemporary politics the way it should be done -- with a deep and thorough root in history. Unifying several different ways of thinking about a complex subject, WHY THE COCKS FIGHT is an exemplary book." --Madison Smartt Bell "The island Columbus called Hispaniola was first divided by a cruel and invasive history into two ill-fitting pieces, a split that remains virulently alive to the Haitians and Dominicans who inhabit it today. Using the vivid imagery of the cockfight, Michele Wucker moves in and out of these conflicting realitities with insight and compassion, skillfully unraveling both the ambiguities of the past and the antipathies of the turbulent present. I have not read as spellbinding a book in a long time." --Alastair Reid -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
Über den Autor
Michele Wucker, born in 1969, is a freelance writer who reports regularly on Caribbean affairs for both Dominican and North American papers. She lives in New York City. This is her first book.
