Some Notes and Comments on VOODOO FIRE IN HAITI

Notes by Bob Corbett

This afternoon a subscriber wrote in asking about the book VOODOO FIRE IN HAITI, a 1935 book about Haiti. Since the book often turns up at used book stores (it was a Literary Guild offering), I thought I pass on my notes on the book for whatever they're worth.

I must have found it early on. It was book # 23 in my library and I must be up around 600 now. (1999 addition: nearly 1200 now)

BIBLIO ENTRY # 23 Lawless # 1531
LOEDERER, Richard A.
VOODOO FIRE IN HAITI
1935
Pub/Period: The Literary Guild
City/Volum: New York

Corbett's annotation for the bibliographic entry:

An adventurers rather exaggerated memoirs. Racist and superficial, but quite interesting to read. Loederer, an artist, was fascinated by Haiti's flora and fauna and writes movingly of the heavily forested land. Despite the title, only 20-30 pages of the book are about Voodoo and those are simply silly.

12/1995 note. My notes don't mention the illustrations. They are racist and very sexy and, I must say, quite captivating.

Notes: He writes of a jungle along the Massacre River from Laguna del Saladillo to Dajabon. He supposedly walked this distance and got caught in hurricane.

• p. 147 He says a stone pier at Petit Anse marks the spot where Columbus lost his ship the Santa Maria. I believe this account differs from the National Geographic account some 40 years later.
• p. 148. 1928 Lindberg opened the Antilles Air route and got a silver letter-weight with a piece of Columbus' anchor. The anchor is supposedly in museum in P-a-P. (I actually saw it there a couple of years after I wrote this.)
• p. 235 Story of the founding of the gourde. Not an accurate story. see Heinl p. 79 for better tale.
• p. 263. Claims of human sacrifice and cannibalism, but does recognize that if it exists it is a very rare phenomenon. Good quote to this effect.

The title is the last chapter. It is only a 9 page story on an experience he had at a single Voodoo service, the only one he ever attended.

Bob Corbett

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