literature - Haiti Observer Blog

Maurice Alfrédo Sixto, one of the biggest names in Haitian literature, was the son of an engineer Maurice Alfredo Sixto (father and son bears the same name) was born on 23 May 1919 in Gonaives, Haiti. He was a man of many colors-- a professor, ambassador, translator, tour guide, reporter are some of them to name a few. He will be remembered for his immense contribution in Haitian Creole language that took Haitian culture to a glorious stature. His father was a rich man.

In his childhood, Maurice Sixto attended the most prestigious school (Saint Louis de Gonzague), after completing high school lessons, he studied at Haitian Military Academy for a couple of months and joined for law courses. While studying his law course, he worked as a news reporter and a radio presenter. Thereafter his career took new turns and he worked as an English teacher in Republic of Congo. He left Congo in 1969 and decided to settle in Paris and work as Haitian diplomat in France.

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The list of ordinary men, not kings or presidents or any other in an official capacity, who have influenced true and lasting forward movement in their home countries, is a short one. The list of Haitian writers who have created a legacy of literary, social and political worth is shorter still. The efforts of one such ordinary Haitian writer puts him at the pinnacle of both lists and elevates him from an ordinary Haitian writer to a legend of extraordinary significance to Haiti, it's Diaspora and many other countries in the world.

Morisseau-Leroy lived a long life from 1912 to 1998. At the beginning, his upbringing in a prosperous mulatto family saw him well-educated and fluent in French and English. His lucky, unchallenged existence was soon broadened by the addition of a wife, whom he credited as his muse, who famously admired his horsemanship, and would later give him three children.

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"I am this: this earth here, and I have it in my blood. Look at my color; it seems as though the earth faded onto me and onto you too."

Jacques Roumain, like many of history's other literary giants, lived a short life but managed to leave such brilliant words behind they would be spoken for centuries following his death. Through his poems he opened up a colorful, complex world that harkened to the struggles of his contemporaries and has given fodder for great new works by those he inspired and homage-paying re-enactments in the present.

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Haitian-born literary artist Alix Renaud has received the Prize Personality Literary award for his contribution to the field. The Canadian Institute of Quebec awarded the prize to Renaud as part of its Award of Excellence for Arts and Culture in a bid to recognize his exemplary work in the fields of writing, poetry, linguistic and journalism. For more than 40 years, Renaud has been active in the world of literature and this did not go unnoticed.

During his career in Canada, Renaud, who is also the 2007 Prix Charles Biddle winner, has worked in almost every aspect of literature. From writing to linguistics, Renaud contributed greatly to the advancement of literature. The institute, upon giving out the award, praised Renaud's dynamic presence and the significant role he played in Quebec's literary world.

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