The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy and US Embassy Co-host Haitian-American Author Rose-Anne Clermont Book Launch

(Berlin, Thursday, 16th of September 2010)

Event Report

Executive Summary

On Wednesday September 15th, the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy was privileged to co-host an event alongside the US Embassy in Germany; the book launch of Haitian-American Rose-Anne Clermont. The evening took place on the ‘Kurier’ ship on the Spree River, was attended by over 100 people, including the US cultural attaché Stephanie Brancaforte and ICD Founder & Director Mark Donfried.

Event Overview

The guests boarded the ship for drinks on the deck before moving downstairs to experience the Floodwall exhibition, a collection of over 380 draws recovered from the floodwaters lest in Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath. Ms. Clermont read some often amusing excerpts from the book (in German), which were very well received by the audience. Following the reading and discussion, there was a reception of food and refreshments.

About the Artist

About Rose-Anne Clermont was born in 1971 in New York from Haitian parents. She studied journalism at Columbia University and came to Berlin in 1998. She has worked for Der Spiegel Online, Die Zeit and International Herald Tribune, and writes about integration and education.

About the Book

In “Busch Girl”, Ms. Clermont writes about her life in Germany. The fact that for German people her black skin often aroused images pictures of primeval forest and raffia skirts was more than an amusing experience for her. The journalist with Haitian roots, who grew up in the USA, relates both her own often bizarre experiences in Berlin, as well as those that her parents experienced arriving in New York from Haiti in the 1960s.

Further Information

For further details about the Floodwall program, including the exhibition, the youth outreach program, or the event series, please see the following link: www.floodwall-berlin.de

More about the book http://www.buschgirl.de/roseanneclermont.html