Author on Tour: Jessica Oublié

Jessica Oublié studied art history and was the editor of the magazine Africultures. She worked with artist Marie-Ange Rousseau to create a graphic novel on institutionalized West Indian emigration from the 1920s to the 1960s, which won the France Culture Student Prize for Political Comics. After settling in Guadeloupe, she discovered the impact of chlordecone on the health of the people, the land, and the water, and is working to bring it to the attention of the world.

About Toxic Tropics

(trans. by Irene Vázquez, Street Noise, 2024)

Toxic Tropics is an in-depth piece of comics journalism exploring the persistent use of the deadly chemical chlordecone to support banana crops in Martinique and Guadeloupe.

In 1975, pesticide producer LifeSciences closed their plant that produced the chemical chlordecone, after numerous employees had toxic chemical poisoning and the local river had been polluted. But in the French Antilles, farmers continued to use the pesticide. Even after it was banned in 1993, planters continued to illegally import and use it. Chlordecone’s use became so widespread that it was in almost everything locals ate and drank.

Today, 95% of the inhabitants of Guadeloupe and 92% of the inhabitants of Martinique are contaminated by the chemical, and the islands have one of the highest cancer rates in the world.

In this richly illustrated work, the author brings her personal experience and connection to the story as she interviews scores of local people as well as scientists and government officials to uncover the true story behind the decision to continue poisoning the water and the soil for the sake of global commerce. We, as global citizens, are urged to consider the decisions we are making through our consumer choices and how they affect the health of the planet and the survival of communities throughout the world.

Toxic Tropics was released in the US in November 2024.

For more information, click here.

Schedule

Jessica Oublié will be on tour in the US in April 2025.

Her public tour will feature the following engagements:

• Monday, March 24: Conversation @ Washington University in Saint Louis (Saint Louis, MO)
• Tuesday, March 25: Writing workshop @ Washington University in Saint Louis (Saint Louis, MO) – event in English
• Thursday, March 27: Book signing and conversation with Margaret Flinn @ The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH) – event in English
• Sunday, March 30 : Book signing @ Bonjour Books (Washington DC) – event in English
• Wednesday, April 2: Event @Georgetown University (Georgetown, DC) – event in English
• Thursday, April 10: Conversation with Aubrey Gabel @ Maison Française Columbia (New York, NY) – event in English

For more information, please email Valentine Richet at valentine.richet@villa-albertine.org.