Word: avril
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...story or, more accurately, stories. In a culture--ours--in which the national sport is channel surfing, Wallace dares out-of-shape readers to keep up with dozens of oddballs and intermingling plots. One is the tale of the upscale Incandenza clan, a family of high achievers. Mother Avril is a professor of language structure, and father James made a fortune inventing optical instruments, retiring to produce avant-garde films with cheeky titles such as The American Century as Seen Through a Brick, Dial C. for Concupiscence and Infinite Jest, a feature described as "lethally entertaining...
...FOOD OR THE COMPANY? Ever since the U.S. flew tottering Haitian President Prosper Avril into exile in March, the former leader's whereabouts have been a well-kept secret. Rumors targeted Boca Raton, Fla., New Orleans and the Washington area. Now the wife of a prominent Haitian businessman claims a close encounter. Leaving a restaurant in Miami Lakes, Fla., she suddenly screamed, "There is Avril!" Says her husband: "I went home and took a Maalox and a tranquilizer...
...difference between the exits of Duvalier and Avril was that civilians, not military men, engineered the latest transfer of power to a provisional government -- and that gave Haitians cause for hope. Last Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Ertha Pascal Trouillot was sworn in as President. "My essential task is electoral preparations at a national level," she declared, "and to pass power to a democratically elected government...
Trouillot must also navigate her way through the demands and desires of some 20 political parties. In a rare demonstration of unity, opposition leaders banded together in the so-called Group of 12 to press for Avril's ouster and select the new President. But that unity is expected to crumble as soon as campaigning begins. Until the election, Trouillot must govern in tandem with a 19-member Council of State, composed of representatives from social groups and geographic regions. The panel has veto power over presidential decisions -- and that alone could stymie progress toward elections...
...that anyone doubts Trouillot's sincerity. "We believe this government is truly dedicated to conducting elections," said U.S. Ambassador Alvin Adams, who played a crucial role in hastening Avril's departure. As a lawyer and judge, Trouillot, 46, earned a reputation for integrity and political independence. The tenth child of a working-class family, she is the author of several books on law and rose through the judicial system to a seat on the high court. In her inaugural speech, Trouillot "accepted this heavy task in the name of the Haitian woman...