writer - Haiti Observer Blog

Jacques-Stephen Alexis was born in 1922 with literary blood already in his veins courtesy of his writer father, Stephen Alexis. His upbringing in Haiti and the influence of other prolific Haitian writers, like Jacques Roumain before him, molded Alexis into one of the country's most well loved writers.

Though he'd completed his schooling in medicine, writing had remained a passion and he gained early recognition on his first piece, an essay on the poet, Hamilton Garoute. This early success was soon followed by his work with La Ruche and then by a string of novels which tended towards the heavy narrative telling of the Haitian city-dwelling peasant.

Read more →  

Haiti's great writers seem to have an added edge that their contemporaries from other countries, on the same mass scale, simply don't. Along with the accolades of a 'good name' in the literary world, acclaimed works that will live on in posterity due to their massive capacity to inspire understanding, pathos and new knowledge in their readerships, and the ever entertaining narrative of simply good writing chops, the authors hailing from the country have an added layer of grit that often sees them in trouble with authority.

Not one to be left out of this distinction, Josaphat-Robert Large, novelist, poet and art critic, has too walked this seemingly prescribed path of any Haitian writer worth his or her salt. Born in November of 1942, Large grew up under the stifling Duvalier rule and found himself personally affected by the 'absurd order' given for students to stay home on an unlimited vacation, as answer to the student strike. His answer was to take to the streets, a specific ban having been imposed, and he was jailed for his temerity.

Read more →  

Haitian culture's emblematic figure, Franketienne is a Haitian teacher, painter, actor, writer and poet. He has authored 40 books in Creole and French that include names like Ultravocal and Dezafi. His exceptional work has earned him numerous literary awards and prizes. He was born in 1936 and his original name was Franck Etienne. When it comes to painting and art, Franketienne is known for his abstract and colorful work and very often he has been found to be emphasizing on red and blue.

Franketienne is a protagonist - larger-than-life type of protagonist and even during the days when Haiti succumbed to the dictatorships of Papa Doc and Baby Doc, he was never forced by his fear to step down of the National Stage. Franketienne compares a dictator to sado-masochistic relationship where a master is served by his slaves and the very existence of a master depends on the existence of slaves. However, Franketienne never related the historic Haitian slavery with sado-masochistic relationship because even though the master-slave relationship held true in those days, the only problem was that the slaves were considered to be expendable because of excess supply.

Read more →  

Jean Price-Mars, leading mind of the Black intelligentsia, assumed prominent roles in the Haitian government as a young person barely out of his teens. The government delegated him Ambassador of Haiti to France, Germany, the Dominican Republic, and U.S. His scientific aptitude led him to study anthropology and medicine, his gift for analysis made him an academician.

Price-Mars worked as teacher, politician, and writer. During his political career, he served as Secretary of State, ran for the presidency, and represented his country as two-term senator. As thinker and writer, he advocated negritude, a pride in being black and the empowerment that meant.

Read more →  

Born in Jacmel in 1841 to a well-to-do mulatto couple, Hannibal Price began life above the curve. His well-funded education gave him the means to rise high in various respects and he became known as an author as well as a diplomat, having had the post of ambassador from Haiti to the United States for three years from 1890 until his death in 1893.

Price also acted as a Provisional Government Counselor after President Michel Domingue's fall in 1875 and was a serious advocate of Florvil Hyppolite. During the time he played the role of Minister Plenipotentiary to Washington he wrote the book he would be most known for entitled, 'De la Réhabilitation de la Race Noire par la République d'Haïti' (On the Rehabilitation of the Black Race by the Republic of Haiti). This further journey into authorship and the subject matter discussed was said to be in answer to 'Hayti or the Black Republic' by Spenser St. John. Published posthumously, the book sets about to comprehensively show all the possibilities for Haiti if the chains of illiteracy and the consuming practice of vodou were not in existence. It also endeavored to defend the Negro race and present the country to the foreign world in a more friendly light through the discourse of the history and social life of Haiti so voluminously documented within the pages.

Read more →  

A great Haitian has passed away. Prominent Haitian historian Georges Corvington. According to the report, he died of heart failure at the age of 88, this Wednesday, April 3, 2013.

Historian Georges Corvington was born in 1926 in Port-au-Prince. He became President of the Society of History and Geography and was decorated Living National Treasure in January 2009

Mr. Corvington started his writing career in the 70s. His subjects include Port-au-prince, the national Palace and Haiti National Cathedral. These buildings were bot destroyed by the 2010 Haiti earthquake. One of his most successful publication was "Port-au-Prince Through the Ages" , a history of Haiti from the colonization period all the way to the government of Paul Eugene Magloire in 1956.

Read more →  

Great writers write what they know, and to know one must have experienced. It is perhaps the wealth of experience to be had growing up with the flavorful culture of Haiti, combined with the inherent 'growing up female' narrative to mold them why women Haitian writers number so many and are so excitingly prolific in their works. This undeniably compelling group of ladies has received an honor even greater than the awards recently issued to 8 among their field with this further acknowledgement of the worth of their words.

The setting was the Municipal Palace of Delmas, the day, Monday April 1, 2013, our protagonists, 8 wonderful writers whose dedication to their various forms of writing, as poets, short-story and novel writers, art critics and educators, was honored by the Ministry of Culture in a ceremony alive with music from the Congolese 'Drums of Brazza'. Edith Lataillade, Marilisse Neptune Rouzier, Marianne Lehmann, Marie-Alice Théard, Evelyne Trouillot, Marie-Marthe Balin Paul, Charlotte Barlatier Cadet and Paula Clermont Péan were given plaques of merit honoring their literary contributions that have benefited the literature of Haiti by enriching it and giving voice to the issues faced by women in Haitian society.

Read more →  

The repertoire of award-winning author Edwidge Danticat includes an entry to Oprah's book club as well as critically acclaimed autobiographical epics. Whether she's written a novel or a short story collection, readers are bound to get a story that deals with the difficulties and tensions of living life in a foreign land.

In the memoir 'Brother, I'm Dying' Danticat presented the story of her life and those of the two men she loved the most, her father and his older brother, who both died in a year that brought life's complexities starkly to her mind as, while dealing with death, she also welcomed life with the birth of her daughter.

Read more →  

Highly-honored Haitian-American writer, Edwidge Danticat began life in Port-au-Prince in 1969. Her parents abandoned her to the care of her paternal uncle while they pursued a better life in America, leaving her with him for eight years in one of Port-au-Prince's worst neighborhoods.

When she was a pre-teen her parents requested she come and live with them in a suburb outside of Manhattan. She arrived and was enrolled in school where her inability to speak English caused students to bully her. Undaunted, she persevered and learned English well enough to submit an article, "A Haitian-American Christmas: Cremas and Créole Theatre" to a teen publication.

Read more →  

Justin Chrysostome Dorsainvil, popularly known as J.C. Dorsainvil, was and educator and an author. He was born on 1880 and died in the year 1942. He was born in the city of Port-au-Prince and after receiving his education in Haiti, he worked as a teacher. Justin Chrysostome Dorsainvil write several books and all his works concentrated on Haitian society, Haitian history, Haitian politics and science. He also wrote on Haitian Voodoo or Vodou culture. Overall he has 25 literary works under his belt with 70 publications in three different languages.

Some of the notable works by Justin Chrysostome Dorsainvil include Vaudou et Névrose published in 1913, Une Explication Philologique du Vaudou published in 1924, Vaudou et Magie published in 1937, Le Problème de l'Enseignement Primaire en Haïti published in 1922 and Quelques Vues Politiques et Morales published in 1934. Some of his books have been digitized and Vaudou et Névrose is one of them that was digitized in 2008.

Read more →