Brilliant and tense,
Dany Laferrière ‘s first novel,
How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired , is as fresh and relevant today as when it was first published in Canada in 1985. With ribald humor and a working-class intellectualism on par with Charles Bukowski’s or Henry Miller’s,
Laferrière ‘s narrator wanders the streets and slums of Montreal, has sex with white women, and writes a book to save his life.
With this novel,
Laferrière began a series of internationally acclaimed social and political novels about the love of the world, and the world of sex, including
Heading South and
I Am a Japanese Writer. It launched
Laferrière as one of the literary world’s finest provocateurs and continues to draw strong comparisons to the writings of James Baldwin, Henry Miller, Charles Bukowski, and Jack Kerouac. The book was made into a feature film and translated into several languages — this is the first U.S. edition.
Circa l’autore
Dany Laferrière worked as a journalist in his native Haiti during the notorious Duvalier regime, immigrating to Canada in 1978 after a colleague with whom he was collaborating on a story was murdered. He has also worked as a TV and radio host, screenwriter, and director. The author of 13 novels, he has won several awards, including the prestigious Prix Médicis and the Governor Generals award for a Children’s novel. Dany Laferrière lives in Montreal, Canada.
David Homel is a Governor General’s Award-winning translator. He lives in Montreal, Canada.