Jean Metellus (30 April 1937 - 4 January 2014) was a Haitian neurologist, poet, novelist and playwright.

Life and career

Jean Metellus was born in

Jacmel Jacmel (; ht, Jakmèl) is a commune in southern Haiti founded by the Spanish in 1504 and repopulated by the French in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est, 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Port-au-Prince across the Tiburon Peninsu ...

, Haiti. After completing his education in Haiti, he worked as a teacher. In 1959 he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

to escape the

Duvalier Duvalier is a French and Haitian surname, and may refer to: * François Duvalier (1907–1971), nicknamed "Papa Doc", President of Haiti 1957–71 * Jean-Claude Duvalier Jean-Claude Duvalier (; 3 July 19514 October 2014), nicknamed "Baby Doc" ( h ...

dictatorship, where he studied linguistics and medicine, specializing in neurology. In 1973 the magazine ''Les Lettres Nouvelles'' published his poem "Au pipirite chantant," beginning his career as a poet and writer. Some of Metellus's early poems were also published by

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lit ...

in his ''

Les Temps Modernes ''Les Temps Modernes'' (''Modern Times'') is a French journal, founded by Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. It first issue was published in October 1945. It was named after the 1936 film by Charlie Chaplin. ''L ...

''. Metellus' plays include ''Anacaona'', which was produced in Paris at the Thèâtre National de Chaillot by

Antoine Vitez Antoine Vitez (; 20 December 1930 – 30 April 1990) was a French actor, director, and poet. He became a central character and influence on the French theater in the post-war period, especially in the technique of teaching drama. He was also tr ...

. Metellus published several novels, books of poetry and plays. In 2019,

Haun Saussy Caleb Powell Haun Saussy (born February 15, 1960) is University Professor at the University of Chicago. Research Saussy's first book, ''The Problem of a Chinese Aesthetic'' (Stanford UP, 1993), discussed the tradition of commentary that has grow ...

translated a collection of Metellus's poetry titled ''When the Pipirite Sings: Selected Poems,'' which was published by

Northwestern University Press Northwestern University Press is an American publishing house affiliated with Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. It publishes 70 new titles each year in the areas of continental philosophy, poetry, Slavic and German literary criticism ...

. Metellus dedicated his books to his wife, Anne-Marie Cercelet-Métellus. He died on January 4, 2014.

References

External links

Official websiteNU Press catalog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metellus, Jean 1937 births 2014 deaths Haitian male poets Haitian medical writers 20th-century Haitian dramatists and playwrights Haitian male dramatists and playwrights Haitian male novelists Haitian neurologists 20th-century Haitian poets 20th-century Haitian novelists 20th-century male writers