Honorary Degree: Edwidge Danticat
Edwidge Danticat will receive the SUNY honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters.
Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Edwidge Danticat is the author of many books, including Breath, Eyes, Memory (1994), an Oprah Book Club selection; Krik? Krak! (1996), a finalist for the National Book Award; and Everything Inside, named a best book of 2019 by NPR, Time, and BuzzFeed.
Her 2007 memoir, Brother, I’m Dying, was a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography. Her many recognitions include a MacArthur Fellowship, honorary degrees from Smith College, Yale University, and the University of the West Indies Open Campus, and the 2017 Neustadt International Prize for Literature.
During the 2019-20 academic year, Ms. Danticat was honored with the Durst Distinguished Chair for Literature at Purchase College.