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Eight Days, an Interview with Author Edwidge Danticat
Eight Days, an Interview with the Author
by Harrison DeSimone, Age 10, Bethesda, Maryland.
Harrison: Is this a true story? If so was the boy’s name Junior? How did you come up with the character?
Ms. Danticat: Thank you so much Harrison for your interest in the book. Eight Days is not a true story. It is an imagined story based on the many stories of little kids, including some in my own family, who were stuck in the ruble after the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010. I tried to imagine what little children might be thinking while buried under the ruble and I came up with that story. I named the character Junior because Junior kind of means “little,” son of. If you’re a Junior there is often a senior, an older person with the same name. I wanted the reader to know immediately that this was a boy with a family, that he had someone, or a lot of people, who were waiting and praying for him to come out. That’s why I used that name. I came up with the character while thinking of what it might be like to be in that same situation. I tried to put myself in everyone’s place, Junior’s, Junior’s family and tried to come up with the best story I could.
Harrison: Did you personally know any kids that were stuck under houses?
Ms. Danticat: I did. My cousin Maxo, who died in the earthquake, had several children who were stuck in the rubble for two or three days. One was a fifteen month old baby and Maxo’s neighbors saved her after hearing her cries. He also had older children who were in the rubble. One of them, Nozial, who was ten years old, died. The others, thankfully were saved. Junior is a like Nozial, he liked to play marbles and sing. He was a very sweet boy.
Harrison: Would you write a new book about his new life? I would like to know, did he move after the earthquake? Did he get a new house? What happened to him?
Ms. Danticat: I’m really happy--and flattered--that you want to know more about Junior. He is a very special boy. I don’t think I’ll write another book about him though, but I can tell you the answers if you like. Junior probably had a similar experience to many children in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, after the earthquake. He probably moved into a tent for a while, then started school, and is waiting for his parents to have enough money to move into another house.
To read the full interview, click here: https://clintonbushhaitifund.org/page/-/eightdaysrevised.pdf
