Edwidge Danticat on Haitian Americans in a Time of Peril

Sep 8, 2026 23 min

About this episode

For more than thirty years, Edwidge Danticat has written about the experiences of Haitians and Haitian Americans in fiction, memoir, and journalism. In The New Yorker, she has <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/edwidge-danticat" rel="noopener noreferrer">covered</a> the ways in which the Trump Administration has targeted Haitian immigrants with lies and threats of deportation. In a new novel about a Miami real-estate broker, called “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/768725/dey-by-edwidge-danticat/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dèy</a>”—which means “grief” or “mourning” in Haitian Creole—Danticat considers the meaning of home “when home may not want you,” and when violence in Haiti may preclude returning there. She speaks with the New Yorker staff writer <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/doreen-st-felix" rel="noopener noreferrer">Doreen St. Félix</a> about the novel, and what the revocation of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians means for the large Haitian American community. Further reading:<ul><li>“<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-great-delegalization#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_98fb5355-a143-490d-be07-b353110232c0_closr" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Great Delegalization</a>,” by Dara Lind</li><li>“<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/critics-notebook/the-world-cup-and-the-changing-psyche-of-the-haitian-diaspora" rel="noopener noreferrer">The World Cup and the Changing Psyche of the Haitian Diaspora</a>,” by Doreen St. Félix</li><li>“<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/miamis-haitian-community-braces-for-deportations" rel="noopener noreferrer">Miami’s Haitian Community Braces for Deportations</a>,” by Edwidge Danticat</li><li>“<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/essay/the-haiti-that-still-dreams" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Haiti That Still Dreams</a>,” by Edwidge Danticat</li></ul> New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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