TITLE: The Life and Bookstore of Jan Mapou
SPEAKER: Jan Mapou
EVENT DATE: 06/20/2011
FORMAT: Video + Captions
RUNNING TIME: 302 minutes
TRANSCRIPT: View Transcript (link will open in a new window)
DESCRIPTION:
Poet, storyteller and dramatist Jan Mapou came to the Library of Congress to record an oral history of his life and times. In this program a master storyteller recounts his life and, in so doing, provides insight into the rich oral traditions that are an important part of Haitian culture. Stories told in Haiti are often recounted under the mapou tree, the tree that does not fall. In the case of Mr. Mapou the storyteller is also a bibliophile who has poured his deep knowledge of and commitment to Haiti into the creation of the widely acclaimed bookstore Libreri Mapou, a cultural anchor of first importance in Little Haiti, Miami, Fla.
Speaker Biography: Born Jean-Marie Willer Denis, Jan Mapou began his life in the city of Les Cayes, Haiti on Oct. 12, 1941. His journey as a seminal member of the Haitian Creole Movement took him from the country of the Duvalier Regime and its infamous prison Fort Dimanche to New York, Miami and Cuba.
