Join Maggie Steber for a FREE VII Interactive Book Club discussion of DANCING ON FIRE: Photographs from Haiti on July 27 at 10 AM EDT. Click here to register for access.
Published in 1991 by Aperture Foundation in English and Arthaud in French, this book chronicles the first five years after the fall of the Duvalier family’s 30-year dictatorship in Haiti. The photographs cover the time period from the first day of freedom for Haitians through the election of former priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide as president, along with continuing political conflict and the daily lives of people whose ancestors waged the only successful slave revolt in world history to establish the first Black Republic in the world. This revolution is an ongoing point of pride among Haitians. Steber offers a picture of Haiti that includes a vibrant culture and a nation plagued by turmoil that is often created by outside forces. The photographs go beyond the calamity of political turbulence to show the heroism of the people as they dream of freedom and modest prosperity.
