Dany Laferrière, l'identité culturelle et l'intertexte afro-américain

Authors

Anne Marie Miraglia, Université de Waterloo

Abstract

This study examines two novels by Dany Laferriere, Comment faire /'amour avec un negre sans se fatiguer (1985) and Cette grenade dans la main du jeune negre est-elle une bombe ou un fruit? (1993) in light

of their «Americanness» and their relations to the writings of the Afro- American writers Chester Himes and James Baldwin. The «Americanness»

of Laferriere's novels is apparent in the recurrence of typical American themes and characters and in the exploitation of proper nouns, myths and cliches that are specific to North America. Although Chester Himes' popular fiction appears to influence some of the stylistic and thematic aspects of Comment faire /'amour avec un negre sans se fatiguer, it becomes obvious that James Baldwin's protest literature is quite significant in the composition of Cette grenade dans la main du jeune negre. lntertextuality in Laferriere's novels points to the serious political dimension of a style of writing that, although light and comic, does not fail to take a stand against dominant cultural ideologies and to align itself quite clearly with the protest novels of Afro-American writers.

Recommended Citation

Miraglia, Anne Marie (2000) "Dany Laferrière, l'identité culturelle et l'intertexte afro-américain," Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature: Vol. 54: No. 1, Article 9.
Available at: https://crossworks.holycross.edu/pf/vol54/iss1/9