International conference, 'The Francophone Caribbean and North America,' to sponsor Haiti-relief fundraiser

Acclaimed Haitian novelist Dany Laferrière will speak at The Florida State University next week during a fundraiser in support of the Haiti earthquake relief effort.

Laferrière, winner of France’s prestigious Prix Médicis, and others who were in Haiti when the Jan. 12 earthquake struck will present firsthand accounts of the disaster and of the needs that now must be urgently met. A collection will be taken by the American Red Cross of Tallahassee to support the relief effort. The first people to donate $20 or more will receive special complimentary T-shirts designed by Miami-based Haitian artist Edouard Duval-Carrié.

The fundraiser will take place:

THURSDAY, FEB. 25

5:30 P.M.

ROOM 255

FISHER LECTURE HALL

The event, which is open to the public, is being held in conjunction with a major international conference titled “The Francophone Caribbean and North America.” That conference, sponsored by Florida State’s Winthrop-King Institute for Contemporary French and Francophone Studies, will take place Feb. 25-27 and will feature approximately 100 scholars from around the world.