Acknowledgments

This book began with a seemingly small question: why did Joseph Bédier dedicate his edition of the Chanson de Roland to an island named Bourbon? The search for answers led me far afield in more ways than one, and I have been fortunate to benefit from the generosity and expertise of numerous friends, colleagues, strangers, librarians, and archivists.

I could not have imagined this project without the indulgence and encouragement of my colleagues and students at the University of Miami, especially in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. In formative moments, my department nurtured adventurous thinking in a supportive collegial environment, sharing ideas across languages and disparate fields of specialization. In the final stages of the project, I found a new and welcoming home at Dartmouth College.

On Réunion, I spent many productive hours at the Bibliothèque de l’Université de la Réunion, especially in the Salle de l’Océan Indien. At the Archives Départementales, Nadine Rouayroux (director), Emmanuelle Vidal, Corinne Hivanhoé, and others provided invaluable assistance. At the Musée Léon Dierx, Laurence Lecieux led me to discover the fascinating work of Sarkis, while Nathalie Gonthier and Maryse Duchêne provided copies of materials from inaccessible archives. Administrators of the Collège de Bourbon and the Lycée de Leconte de Lisle graciously answered my inquiries about long-disappeared archives. Alain Vauthier, director of the Bibliothèque Départementale, shared his personal interest in Joseph Bédier and introduced me to Adrien Bédier. Adrien and Lillian Bédier welcomed me most kindly into their home, sharing photographs, newspaper clippings, and thoughts on family history. Y. Chan Kam Lon, director of the National Library of Mauritius, sent precious photocopies of rare newspaper articles.

In Paris, I followed in the archival footsteps of Alain Corbellari, whose bibliography of manuscript sources guided me through my early searches for Bédier’s colonial memories. Corbellari has been a genial correspondent throughout this project, generously providing an electronic typescript of his forthcoming edition of Bédier’s letters. At the Collège de France, Mme Maury graciously shared her cramped archival quarters for long days at a time. Dominique Parcollet, director of the Archives d’Histoire Contemporaine, helped me to resolve several obscure biographical points. Librarians at the Bibliothèque de l’Institut and Archives de l’Académie Française pointed me toward new materials. Finally, Christophe Bédier generously made time, on short notice, to discuss family history and to share valuable documents.

In the United States, I benefited enormously from the resources of university libraries and their interlibrary loan departments. At the University of Miami, Cecilia Leathem offered material and personal support over the years; at Dartmouth College, Miguel Valladares has shown more enthusiasm for my research than I imagined possible. I spent productive time at the New York Public Library (especially the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture) and the Wolfsonian Museum and Library in Miami Beach (whose entire staff made work both enjoyable and efficient).

Student research assistants consistently lightened the labors of research and propelled me to read faster: my enduring thanks to Khaleem Mohammed-Ali, Oona O’Connell, and Gabrielle Rapke (at the University of Miami), and to Maria-Bethlehem Pal-Laya (at Dartmouth College), who wrestled valiantly with the technicalities of digital imaging.

My research was generously supported by several institutions. Early on, I spent a glorious semester at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France. The University of Miami subsequently provided a number of travel and research grants that made possible trips to Paris and Réunion, research assistance, and a highly productive semester of leave. More recently, I spent enjoyable and stimulating time in residence at the University of Melbourne (thanks to Stephanie Trigg) and the Wolfsonian Museum of Florida International University. Dartmouth College’s John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding awarded support for further travel to Réunion as well as a phenomenal seminar discussion of a complete draft of the manuscript. For their insightful participation on that occasion, and ongoing encouragement, I am deeply indebted to Peggy McCracken and Herman Lebovics, and to my Dartmouth colleagues Margaret Darrow, Mary Jean Green, Monika Otter, Andrea Tarnowski, and Keith Walker. I profited immensely from their critical challenges as well as from their collective incitement to “say more.”

I have been most fortunate to receive incisive commentary on manuscript drafts from Jean-Claude Carpanin Marimoutou, Andrew Cowell, Margaret Burland, Bed Giri, Scott Lyngaas, members of the Medieval Seminar at Dartmouth, members of the Pre-Modern Colloquium at the University of Michigan, and members of the Humanities Colloquium at the University of Miami. Audiences at the Johns Hopkins University, Florida State University, University of Melbourne, and University of Wisconsin all helped sharpen my thinking. Jody Enders and Deborah Jenson read the manuscript for the University of Minnesota Press, offering insightful critiques as well as much welcomed reassurance. My thanks to Richard Morrison at the University of Minnesota Press for his enthusiasm for this project.

For pivotal conversations along the way, I am grateful to Marc Brudzinski, Mark Burde, Keith Busby, Yvan Combeau, Lisa Cooper, George Edmondson, Elizabeth Emery, Prosper Eve, John Ganim, Gilles Gauvin, Ralph Heyndels, Sharon Kinoshita, John Kopper, Françoise Lionnet, Donald Maddox, Lillian Manzor, Klaus Mladek, Stephen Nichols, Mireille Rosello, Helen Solterer, Gabrielle Spiegel, Stephanie Trigg, and Françoise Vergès.

I wish to thank my parents, Carol and Chuck Warren, for bravely sending me to France to ride horses: I owe so much to that fateful summer. Above all, I cherish Rebecca Biron, who believed in this book long before I did, and Quinn, who likes the pictures but doesn’t remember Réunion.