Description: Imaginative literature, argues the author, does not merely reflect, but actively influences historical events. This is demonstrated by a close examination of the relations between Haiti and the US through both countries' imaginative literature. J. Michael Dash traces this process from the nineteenth century until it emerges with a voyeuristic fierceness in the 1960s. The United States "invented" Haiti as a land of savagery and mystery, while, in an effort to resist those stereotypes, Haitian literature becomes a subversive maneuver permitting Haitian's to "rewrite" themselves. Weaving together text and historical context, Dash demonstrates the durability of these images which continue to shape official policy and popular attitudes.

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