Property of a Blue Sea

AYITI (Haiti) a slim volume of twenty-five pages, classified under poetry by the publisher, Finishing Line Press, is a bold and daring title by Daniel Wolff, a noted writer of nonfiction as well. His most recent, Grown-Up Anger: The Connected Mysteries of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and the Calumet Massacre of 1913 (2017) was a Michigan Notable Book. He was also nominated for a Grammy.

To use the name of the country, without a subtitle that would suggest the intent or focus of the writer, presents an open field of possibilities of what the reader might experience from this chapbook size collection. It contains nine poems, including one long quote presented as poetic verse. The first line opens with "Our job is to intervene." Though AYITI is presented under poetry, the book is evenly divided between these nine poems and a series of narratives that communicate the writer's knowledge and experience about the country that the book is titled after.

It is through these carefully crafted stories that Wolff works his magic. He provides the necessary information and background to justify the stand-alone title Ayiti. Embedded in these narratives, especially "Caribbean," Wolff affords the reader an opportunity to learn about the place that he has discovered. In a few short paragraphs of "Caribbean," he outlines a concise historical account of Haiti that starts with the geological formation of the topography and advances to the political realities over time. This includes social and cultural developments all the way up to the modern period. This is an original attempt to capture the complexity of Haiti as a developing democracy.

Following his lyrical and narrative depiction of Haiti is an untitled poem. The first line includes the phrase "the illusion of Haiti." Whereas in the narrative of "Caribbean," Wolff presents a factual account of the country, here, in this poem, he builds on personal experiences and through his imagination—he offers the reader a loaded visual depiction of the country. Though which images, fully charged with his sentiments, he appears to be of his own perception. Anyone who knows something about Haiti is quite familiar with the grim characteristics rendered in "The illusion of Haiti." However, what he achieves in this poem and others, in this modest publication, is reconstructing the cognitive awareness of the reader to afford an occasion of primal experience.

The illusion of Haitiis the illusionof dark mountainsthat can be pried off a blue sea.As if a stamp underneath              read, "PROPERTY OF."

In this first stanza of the poem, I am forced to pause and consider, what is it like for a dark mountain to be pried off a blue sea? What is the poet attempting to evoke or how is it that I, the reader, should envision Haiti through his lens? For my own personal comfort, this is an image that I must fathom. I was born in Haiti and I believe that I have a good understanding of Haitian history and the nation psyche. However, I am intrigued to discover how a foreigner arrives at his/her perception of the country. This construct, I believe, leads to the types and quality of his relationships with the people he imagines. Even more poignant, are the two lines that follow, "As if a stamp underneath / read, "PROPERTY OF." Here I might imagine whatever his illusion may be, whoever owns this "PROPERTY," this Land, would control the people. After all, it appears that Haiti, though seen as an illusion, has a concrete reality.

Throughout this collection of narratives and poetry, the reality I think Wolff is putting forward is that this dark mountain is seen as an illusion. This illusion is very much in the hands or mind of those who dictate, direct, and decide every step of its outcome. Embedded through his poems are capsules of imagination that may contain far more truth that any facts could reveal.

Our job is to intervene.I mean, we already kicked butt.Our orders are to...