Bouki and the Cocaine, Ben Fountain on Haiti

Jake Nussbaum hosts author Ben Fountain, who reads an excerpt from Bouki and the Cocaine, his short story about the drug trade and corruption in Haiti. Fountain goes on to discuss his fascination with the transparent mechanisms of raw power in the country, and the complications and responsibilities of an outsider and artist traveling to, writing on, and experiencing Haiti.

Ben Fountain went to Haiti in 1991 for reasons unknown, and has been returning ever since. He is the author of the short story collection Brief Encounters with Che Guevara, and a novel, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. His work has received the National Book Critics' Circle Award, the PEN/Hemingway Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Award, and has been a finalist for the National Book Award. He has lived for the past thirty years in the belly of the beast, otherwise known as Dallas, Texas.

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