In "Seeing Things Simply" from her short story collection Krik? Krak!, Edwidge Danticat writes about a young girl who dreams of being a painter, one who can capture what she sees "in a way that no one else had and no one else would after her." Since Danticat's smash debut in 1994 at the age of 24 with the novel Breath, Eyes, Memory, she's proven to have a similarly inimitable vision — a deeply felt insight into the beauties and devastating realities of her native Haiti, recounted in crystalline prose that has deservedly won her piles of awards and critical acclaim. She reads at the University of Tampa on Tuesday as part of UT's Writers at the University series. Tues., Jan. 31, 8 p.m., Falk Theatre, 428 Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, free admission, 813-253-6216.
This article appears in Jan 25-31, 2006.