Dany Laferrière (; born Windsor Klébert Laferrière, 13 April 1953) is a writer and filmmaker. He was elected to seat 2 of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

on 12 December 2013, and inducted in May 2015. Born in Haiti, he lives between Montreal and Paris.

Life

Born in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, and raised in Petit-Goâve, Laferrière worked as a journalist in Haiti before moving to Canada in 1976. Brian Busby
"Dany Laferrière"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

'', November 16, 2009. He also worked as a journalist in Canada and hosted television programming for the TQS network. Laferrière published his first novel, '' How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired (Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer)'' in 1985. The novel was later adapted into a

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

by Laferrière and Richard Sadler, earning a

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

nomination for best adapted screenplay at the 11th Genie Awards in 1990. The film adaptation of the novel starred Isaach De Bankolé and was directed by Jacques W. Benoit. Laferrière writes exclusively in French, although some of his works have been published in English translation by David Homel. Several further films have been adapted from his work, including '' On the Verge of a Fever (Le Goût des jeunes filles)'' in 2004 and '' Heading South (Vers le sud)'' in 2005. He also wrote the original screenplays for '' Voodoo Taxi'' in 1991 and '' How to Conquer America in One Night (Comment conquérir l'Amérique en une nuit)'' in 2004, and was the director of the latter. In 2009, Laferrière won the prestigious

Prix Médicis The Prix Médicis () is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and .

for his 11th novel, ''L'énigme du retour''. Upon receiving the prize, he commented on its ability to open up a new readership in France, giving him visibility there. In the past, Laferrière had always refused to be published in the fall, a season associated with the great literary prizes, but had been recommended to do so with ''L'énigme du retour'' by his editors. The novel follows Laferrière as he returns to his birthplace in Haiti, 33 years after he left it, upon learning of his father's death in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The narrative blurs the line between prose and poetry, resembling

haiku is a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 Mora (linguistics), morae (called ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' in Japanese) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern; that include a ''kire ...

structures in some sections. On 12 December 2013, Laferrière was elected on the first round of balloting to Seat no. 2 of the

, becoming the first Haitian, the first Canadian and the first Quebecer to receive that honour. He is the second black person to have been inducted, the first being

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

ese writer and statesman

Léopold Sédar Senghor Léopold Sédar Senghor ( , , ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese politician, cultural theorist and poet who served as the first president of Senegal from 1960 to 1980. Ideologically an African socialist, Senghor was one ...

in 1983. On 3 June 2014, he was awarded the International Literature Award by the House of World Cultures for his novel ''The Return'' (''L'enigme du retour''). In 2014, he was appointed officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

. In 2015, Laferrière was awarded the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

with the grade of officer. In 2016, Laferrière won the Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award for his literary achievements. Laferrière lives in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Works

* ''Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer'', 1985 ( Éditions VLB) :: English translation ''How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired'', 1987 (

Coach House Press Coach House Books is an independent book publishing company located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Coach House publishes experimental poetry, fiction, drama and non-fiction. The press is particularly interested in writing that pushes at the boundar ...

) * ''Éroshima'', 1987 (Éditions VLB) :: English translation ''Eroshima'', 1991 (Coach House Press) * ''L'odeur du café'', 1991 (Éditions VLB) :: English translation ''An Aroma of Coffee'', 1993 (Coach House Press) * ''Le goût des jeunes filles'', 1992 (Éditions VLB) :: English translation ''Dining with the Dictator'', 1994 (Coach House Press) * ''Cette grenade dans la main du jeune nègre est-elle une arme ou un fruit?'', 1993 (Éditions VLB), Prix RFO du livre (2002) :: English translation ''Why Must a Black Writer Write About Sex?'', 1994 (Coach House Press) * ''Chronique de la dérive douce'' 1994 (Éditions VLB,

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

) :: English translation ''A Drifting Year'', 1997 (

Douglas & McIntyre Douglas and McIntyre (2013) Ltd. is a Canadian book publishing firm. Douglas & McIntyre was founded by James Douglas and Scott McIntyre in 1971 as an independent publishing company based in Vancouver. Reorganized with new owners in 2008 as D&M ...

) * ''Pays sans chapeau'', 1996 ( Éditions Lanctôt) :: English translation ''Down Among the Dead Men'', 1997 (Douglas & McIntyre) * ''La chair du maître'', 1997 (Éditions Lanctôt) * ''Le charme des après-midi sans fin'', 1997 (Éditions Lanctôt) * ''Le cri des oiseaux fous'', 2000 ( Serpent à plumes) * ''J'écris comme je vis ; Entretien avec Bernard Magnier'', 2000 (Éditions La passe du vent) * ''Je suis fatigué'', 2000 ( Les librairies initiales) * ''Je suis fou de Vava'', 2005 (Éditions de la Bagnole) *Pays sans chapeau, 2006 (Éditions du Boréal) *Vers le Sud, 2006 (Grasset) :: English translation ''Heading South'', 2008 (

) * ''Je suis un écrivain japonais'' :: English translation ''I Am a Japanese Writer'', 2010 (

) * ''La fête des morts'', 2009 (Éditions de la Bagnole) * ''L'énigme du retour'', 2009 (Québec: Boréal, France: Grasset) :: English translation ''The Enigma of the Return'', 2011 (Douglas & McIntyre) * ''Tout bouge autour de moi'', 2010 ( Mémoire d'encrier) :: English translation "The World is Moving Around Me", 2013 (Arsenal Pulp Press) * ''L'Art presque perdu de ne rien faire'', 2011 (Boréal) * ''Journal d'un écrivain en pyjama'', 2013 (Montréal: Mémoire d'encrier) * Tout ce qu'on ne te dira pas, Mongo, 2015 (Montréal: Mémoire d'encrier) Further reading *Beniamin Vasile, ''Dany Laferrière: l'autodidacte et le processus de création'', Paris: l'Harmattan, collection "Critiques Littéraires", 2008

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laferriere, Dany 1953 births Black Canadian filmmakers Canadian male novelists 20th-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian poets Canadian poets in French Film directors from Montreal Haitian Quebecers Governor General's Award–winning children's writers Haitian emigrants to Canada Haitian male novelists Poets from Montreal Writers from Port-au-Prince Prix Médicis winners Members of the Académie Française Living people Canadian novelists in French Canadian male poets Officers of the National Order of Quebec Officers of the Order of Canada 20th-century Haitian novelists 20th-century Haitian poets 21st-century Haitian novelists 21st-century Haitian poets 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian screenwriters Canadian screenwriters in French Canadian children's writers in French Screenwriters from Quebec Black Canadian novelists Black Canadian screenwriters Black Canadian poets Novelists from Montreal