Gainesville Reads event at The Lynx Bookshop | RSVP here

The Lynx Books
601 South Main Street
Gainesville, FL 32601

Please note that, due to our high volume of community partnerships, details for all Gainesville Reads events are subject to change. Please check back one week prior to the event for final details!

Join UF Associate Professor in Haitian and Francophone Studies Benjamin Hebblethwaite for an introductory lesson on Haitian Creole! Dr. Hebblethwaite will introduce his new co-authored textbook, Kreyòl pale: A Haitian Creole Textbook for Beginners, alongside activities and discussion questions. He will be joined by his colleagues at LibraryPress@UF, Tracy MacKay-Ratliff and Kat Nguyen, who will introduce the Press and their work on the textbook's publication.  

Sponsored in part by Visit Gainesville Alachua County.

About Benjamin Hebblethwaite:

Benjamin Hebblethwaite is an associate professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Florida. His 2021 book, A Transatlantic History of Haitian Vodou: Rasin Figuier, Rasin Bwa Kayiman, and the Rada and Gede Rites, connects four centuries of political, social, and religious history with fieldwork and language documentation, analyzing Vodou’s West African origins, transmission to Saint-Domingue, and diffusion through songs in contemporary Haiti. He is responsible for research, teaching, and service in Haitian Creole and French Studies, as well as the Humanities, Linguistics, and Literature. He has received funding from the NEA, the NEH, and the DOE, completing books for each award.

About Kreyòl pale:

Kreyòl pale (Creole is Spoken) is a 29-chapter textbook designed for beginner learners of the Haitian Creole language. The textbook employs a communicative pedagogical methodology that emphasizes the learner's acquisition of speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills through meaningful content. The textbook focuses on communication scenarios that are the most important for navigating daily life in Haiti and its Diaspora. It contains Haitian Creole dialogues with English glosses, grammar and vocabulary lessons, pronunciation guides, cultural notes, and extensive skill-building activities. The dialogues present real-life scenarios like greetings, traveling, ordering food, finding housing, going out, shopping, and many others.