Joannne Hyppolite Biograhy

Joanne Hyppolite, was born in Haiti in 1969. However she moved to Boston where her parents settled and raised her. She received many aspects of both american and Haitian culture. However she never felt like she belonged in either one of her cultures. She felt like she missed out on basic aspects that people grow up with in Haiti, like eating certain foods, seeing certain sights and hearing certain stories. She experienced some aspects of her Haitian heritage and therefore didn't fit in, in the US either. She looked different had a different upbringing, wore different things and ate different food.

Because of Hyppolite felt like she didn't belong she turned to stories to help her process and let go of her differences. She started writing stories when she was young, 12 years old, and she published her first book in 1995, called "Seth and Samona".

She went to the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with a degree in creative writing. She then studied for her master's degree in the Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Now she lives in Florida. Joanne is now studying for her doctorate in Caribbean Literature. She still writes stories and through them she hopes to debunk many stereotypes of Haiti.