--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After the Dance was my first attempt at…" description: "\"After the Dance was my first attempt at nonfiction. I'd never really participated in carnival, and I really wanted to go. It sounded like a wonderfully..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/edwidge-danticat-2559_carnival_after-the-dance-was-my-first-attempt-at_2775991.jpg" --- # After the Dance was my first attempt at nonfiction. I'd… ![“After the Dance was my first attempt at nonfiction. I'd never really participated in carnival, and I really wanted to go. It sounded like a wonderfully fun thing to do. And I wanted to write something happy about Haiti, something celebratory. And going to carnival gave me a chance to do that…” quote by Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/edwidge-danticat-2559_carnival_after-the-dance-was-my-first-attempt-at_2775991.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/edwidge-danticat-2559_carnival_after-the-dance-was-my-first-attempt-at_2775991.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/edwidge-danticat-2559_carnival_after-the-dance-was-my-first-attempt-at_2775991.jpg) > “After the Dance was my first attempt at nonfiction. I'd never really participated in carnival, and I really wanted to go. It sounded like a wonderfully fun thing to do. And I wanted to write something happy about Haiti, something celebratory. And going to carnival gave me a chance to do that, because it is one of the instances in Haiti when people shed their class separation and come together.” [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He attended Haiti’s carnival to experience joy and unity, writing a celebratory nonfiction piece about the event. **In simple terms:** He went to carnival for happiness and community, then wrote about it. Key Takeaway Seek experiences that bridge social divides. Themes culture celebration unity Mood reflective joyful Type cultural inspirational When to use this quote - festival planning - community outreach - travel writing Key Concepts anthropology storytelling social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - What moments reveal true community spirit? - How can such events inspire broader social change? A Different Perspective Carnival may not reflect everyday reality for all. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carnival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carnival/) [Carnival Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carnival-really-3275158/) [Carnivals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carnivals/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) [Fun things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun-things/) [Going Carnival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-carnival-3275157/) [Haiti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haiti/) [Haiti Celebratory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haiti-celebratory-3275160/) [Instance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instance/) [Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonfiction/) [Participated Carnival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/participated-carnival-3275159/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Separation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separation/) [Shed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shed/) [Things to do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-to-do/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The good Samaritan, he's getting dressed, he's getting ready for the show. He's going to the carnival tonight on Desolation Row.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-good-samaritan-he-s-getting-dressed-he-s-getting-ready-for-the/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Beware originality. In women fashion originality can lead to carnival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/beware-originality-in-women-fashion-originality-can-lead-to-carnival/) [Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/) > [Show business is and has always been a depraved carnival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/show-business-is-and-has-always-been-a-depraved-carnival/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [When I was a kid and the carnival would come to the shopping centre, I'd go down and talk to all the people running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-quaid/when-i-was-a-kid-and-the-carnival-would-come-to-the-shopping-centre-i/) [Randy Quaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-quaid/) > [In Russia I went to a great yeshiva, and in America I work in a carnival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/in-russia-i-went-to-a-great-yeshiva-and-in-america-i-work-in-a/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [Everything in Gatlin was rigged. Why would the carnival games be any different?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/everything-in-gatlin-was-rigged-why-would-the-carnival-games-be-any/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [During a carnival, men put masks over their masks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xavier-forneret/during-a-carnival-men-put-masks-over-their-masks/) [Xavier Forneret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xavier-forneret/) > [Marriage isn't a carnival ride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aisha-tyler/marriage-isn-t-a-carnival-ride/) [Aisha Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aisha-tyler/) > [Crewing and being on film sets is kind of like being in the carnival, with carnie folks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mendelsohn/crewing-and-being-on-film-sets-is-kind-of-like-being-in-the-carnival/) [Ben Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mendelsohn/) > [Drugs are a carnival in hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-piaf/drugs-are-a-carnival-in-hell/) [Edith Piaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-piaf/) > [I think honestly when I was younger I use to love going to carnivals in Long Island. I use to love carnival season; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/i-think-honestly-when-i-was-younger-i-use-to-love-going-to-carnivals/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [ \[Carnival Ride\] is part of a line from my favorite song on the album, "Wheel of the World." It sums up everything that's happened… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-underwood/carnival-ride-is-part-of-a-line-from-my-favorite-song-on-the-album/) [Carrie Underwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-underwood/) > [If you have to give a carnival to get people to come to church, then you will have to keep giving carnivals to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-you-have-to-give-a-carnival-to-get-people-to-come-to-church-then/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Not everyone is going to like every carnival ride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/not-everyone-is-going-to-like-every-carnival-ride/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [I stumble through a carnival of horrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-stumble-through-a-carnival-of-horrors/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) ## More by Edwidge Danticat > [“Medicare rewards doctors far better for doing procedures than for assessing whether they should be done at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/medicare-rewards-doctors-far-better-for-doing-procedures-than-for/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I love the process of cracking the spine for the first time and slowly sinking into a book. That will soon seem old-fashioned, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-love-the-process-of-cracking-the-spine-for-the-first-time-and/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I remember reading an interview with a writer who said that in nonfiction if you have one lie it sort of messes it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-remember-reading-an-interview-with-a-writer-who-said-that-in/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Instead I dreamt of walking out of the world, of spending all my time inside with no one to talk to, and no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/instead-i-dreamt-of-walking-out-of-the-world-of-spending-all-my-time/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Then what do you want with me?'... 'The pursuit of happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/then-what-do-you-want-with-me-the-pursuit-of-happiness/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I wanted to raise the voice of a lot of the people that I knew growing up, and this was, for the most part,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-wanted-to-raise-the-voice-of-a-lot-of-the-people-that-i-knew/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [Creating these messes that go from administration to administration and then you swoop in and clean them up - with that heroic Delta force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/creating-these-messes-that-go-from-administration-to-administration/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Nineteen Thirty-Seven”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/nineteen-thirty-seven/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“From her experience working with the weak and the sick, she'd learned that the disease you ignore is the one that kills you, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/from-her-experience-working-with-the-weak-and-the-sick-she-d-learned/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I'm not saying Cubans don't deserve asylum, but if it is a national security issue, there are people who are coming from Cuba on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-m-not-saying-cubans-don-t-deserve-asylum-but-if-it-is-a-national/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“I owe Oprah and that show a tremendous debt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-owe-oprah-and-that-show-a-tremendous-debt/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [The greatest gift anyone can give to a writer is time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/the-greatest-gift-anyone-can-give-to-a-writer-is-time/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I think it is important to reach people through arts and literature, because then you establish a connection that's not an instant crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-think-it-is-important-to-reach-people-through-arts-and-literature/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [All anyone can hope for is just a tiny bit of love, like a drop in a cup if you can get it, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/all-anyone-can-hope-for-is-just-a-tiny-bit-of-love-like-a-drop-in-a/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I very much love a physical book myself. I think people who have had this experience of also seeing a book come together, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-very-much-love-a-physical-book-myself-i-think-people-who-have-had/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) [Explore all 161 Edwidge Danticat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) ## More Carnival quotes > [At spelling bee, how does the one kid get laborious, and next kid gets carnival?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-spelling-bee-how-does-the-one-kid-get-laborious-and-next-kid-gets/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything being a constant carnival, there is no carnival left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/everything-being-a-constant-carnival-there-is-no-carnival-left/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I stumble through a carnival of horrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-stumble-through-a-carnival-of-horrors/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [I would come here, too. Who doesn't want a free ride? I want to ride in the carnival for free all day long and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/i-would-come-here-too-who-doesn-t-want-a-free-ride-i-want-to-ride-in/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) > [Films have degenerated to their original operation as carnival amusement - they offer not drama but thrills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/films-have-degenerated-to-their-original-operation-as-carnival/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [I would love to visit Brazil. It's one place I have not been. One of my dreams is to dance with the Carnival girls.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shanola-hampton/i-would-love-to-visit-brazil-it-s-one-place-i-have-not-been-one-of-my/) [Shanola Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shanola-hampton/) > [Not everyone is going to like every carnival ride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/not-everyone-is-going-to-like-every-carnival-ride/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [“Everyone loves a comedy, my dear. It is divine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rawi-hage/everyone-loves-a-comedy-my-dear-it-is-divine/) [Rawi Hage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rawi-hage/) > [If you have to give a carnival to get people to come to church, then you will have to keep giving carnivals to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-you-have-to-give-a-carnival-to-get-people-to-come-to-church-then/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“A ten-year-old Amanda wandering around the sights and sounds of a carnival. Trying to take it all in as such an event was much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-allison-parker/a-ten-year-old-amanda-wandering-around-the-sights-and-sounds-of-a/) [Jaime Allison Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-allison-parker/) > [“The carnival of carnage that takes place every day, month and year in the realm of industry; the thousands of useful lives that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-douglas-wilson/the-carnival-of-carnage-that-takes-place-every-day-month-and-year-in/) [D. Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-douglas-wilson/) > [Paying to teach in the trenches was like putting my face through a cutout hole at a carnival while a quarterback threw pies at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-gruwell/paying-to-teach-in-the-trenches-was-like-putting-my-face-through-a/) [Erin Gruwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-gruwell/) > [ \[Carnival Ride\] is part of a line from my favorite song on the album, "Wheel of the World." It sums up everything that's happened… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-underwood/carnival-ride-is-part-of-a-line-from-my-favorite-song-on-the-album/) [Carrie Underwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-underwood/) > [I think honestly when I was younger I use to love going to carnivals in Long Island. I use to love carnival season; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/i-think-honestly-when-i-was-younger-i-use-to-love-going-to-carnivals/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [I took her to the carnival, b\*tches love funnel cake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-took-her-to-the-carnival-b-tches-love-funnel-cake/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 98 Carnival quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carnival/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "After the Dance was my first attempt at nonfiction. 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