Marie Vieux-Chauvet
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Marie Vieux-Chauvet (born Marie Vieux; September 16, 1916 – June 19, 1973), was a Haitian novelist, poet and playwright. Born and educated in Port-au-Prince, she is most famous for the novels ''Fille d'Haïti'' (1954), ''La Danse sur le volcan'' (1957), ''Fonds des nègres'' (1960), and ''Amour, colère et folie'' (1968). During her lifetime, she published under the name Marie Chauvet.


Family history

Marie Vieux-Chauvet was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on September 16, 1916, to Constant Vieux, a Haitian politician, and his wife Delia Nones, a woman originally from the
Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Cro ...
. Marie completed her studies at the l'Annexe de l'École Normale d'Institutrices and obtained a degree in elementary education in 1933. She married Aymon Charlier, a doctor, then divorced him. She later married Pierre Chauvet, a travel agent.


Work

Vieux-Chauvet's works focus on class, color, race, gender, family structure and the upheaval of Haitian political, economic and social society during the
United States occupation of Haiti The United States occupation of Haiti began on July 28, 1915, when 330 U.S. Marines landed at Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after the National City Bank of New York convinced the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, to take control of ...
and dictatorship of François Duvalier. Although she lived under heavy surveillance during
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 ...
's dictatorship, Vieux-Chauvet persisted as a writer, hosting meetings of the ''Les Araignées du Soir'' (Evening Spiders), a group of poets and writers of which she was the only female. Vieux-Chauvet sent a trilogy of novellas to France to be published as a single book titled '' Amour, colère et folie ''(''Love, Anger, Madness''). ''Amour, colère et folie'' was published in 1968 by the prestigious publishing house Gallimard in Paris with the support of Simone de Beauvoir. The book was perceived as an attack on the Haitian dictator François Duvalier. Fearing the dictator's legions of a spooky and dreaded Haiti's secret police, the Tonton Macoutes (''Les Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale''), she moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. Her husband, Pierre Chauvet, travelled to Haiti and bought all the copies of the book he could find. Vieux-Chauvet's daughters bought the remaining copies from Gallimard a few years later. She later remarried and worked as a housekeeper in Queens. She died of brain cancer in the United States on June 19, 1973. Extracts from her work appear in the anthologies ''Her True-True Name'' and '' Daughters of Africa''. An English translation of ''Amour, colère et folie ''(''Love, Anger, Madness'') by Rose-Myriam Réjouis and Val Vinokur was published in 2009 with an introduction by Haitian-American writer Edwige Danticat.


Literary awards

*1954 Prix de l'Alliance Française for ''Fille d'Haïti'' *1960 Prix France-Antilles for ''Fonds des nègres'' *1986 Prix Deschamps (posthumous), for ''Amour, colère et folie''


Bibliography


Novels

*''Fille d'Haïti'' (Paris: Fasquelle, 1954; Paris: Zellige, 2014) *''La Danse sur le volcan'' (Paris: Plon, 1957; Paris/Léchelle: Maisonneuve & Larose / Emina Soleil, 2004 (reprint with a preface by Catherine Hermary-Vieille); Léchelle: Zellige, 2008, 2009) **Trans.
Salvator Attanasio Salvator Attanasio (September 9, 1913 – June 3, 1993) was an American literary translator, who translated over 200 works of literature, history and philosophy.Salvator Attanasio, 79, A Literary Translator, ''New York Times'', 9 June 1993. Attana ...
as ''Dance on the Volcano'' (New York: William Sloane Associates, 1959) **Trans. Kaiama L. Glover as ''Dance on the Volcano'' (Archipelago Books, 2016) *''Fonds des nègres'' (Port-au-Prince: Henri Deschamps, 1960) *''Amour, colère et folie'' (Paris: Gallimard, 1968; Paris/Léchelle: Maisonneuve & Larose / Emina Soleil, 2005; Léchelle: Zellige, 2007, 2011; Paris: Zulma, 2015) **Trans. Rose-Myriam Rejouis and Val Vinokur as ''Love, Anger, Madness: A Haitian Trilogy'' (Modern Library, 2009) *''Les Rapaces'' (Port-au-Prince: Deschamps, 1986). Published posthumously under the name Marie Vieux.


Plays

*''La Légende des Fleurs'' (Port-au-Prince: Henri Deschamps, 1947; Port-au-Prince: Éditions Marie Vieux, 2009). Published under the pen name Colibri. *''Samba'' (produced around 1948 in Port-au-Prince. Unpublished) *''Amour, Colère et Folie'' (adapted by José Pliya, Paris: Avant-Scène Théâtre, 2008). ''Amour'' was produced by Vincent Goethals, with Magali Comeau-Denis (Claire) and Cyril Viallon (dancer) and performed at L'Artchipel in Guadeloupe in 2008; ''Colère'' was produced by François Rancillac, with Nicole Dogué (Laura), at L'Artchipel in October 2008; ''Folie'' was produced by José Exélis in October 2009 at L'Artchipel.


Short story

* Ti-Moune nan Bois'' (''Optique'' 7. September 1954: 57-60)


References


Further reading

* Chancy, Myriam. ''Framing Silence: Revolutionary Novels by Haitian Women.'' New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1997. *Dalleo, Raphael. ''Caribbean Literature and the Public Sphere: From the Plantation to the Postcolonial.'' Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2011. *Dash, Michael. ''The Other America: Caribbean Literature in a New World Context.'' Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1998. *Dayan, Joan. ''Haiti, History and the Gods.'' Berkeley: University of California, 1998. * Maximilien Laroche ''Trois études sur Folie de Marie Chauvet'', Collection Essais, Québec, GRELCA. 1984 *


See also

*
Caribbean literature Caribbean literature is the literature of the various territories of the Caribbean region. Literature in English from the former British West Indies may be referred to as Anglo-Caribbean or, in historical contexts, as West Indian literature. Most o ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chauvet, Marie Vieux 1916 births 1973 deaths Haitian women novelists Writers from Port-au-Prince Haitian women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Haitian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Haitian women writers 20th-century Haitian novelists Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Haitian emigrants to the United States