René Depestre (born 29 August 1926,

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 Peninsula ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

) is a Haitian poet and former

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

activist. He is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in

Haitian literature Haitian literature has been closely intertwined with the political life of Haiti. Haitian intellectuals turned successively or simultaneously to African traditions, France, Latin America, the UK, and the United States. At the same time, Haitian h ...

. He lived in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

as an exile from 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 ...

regime for many years and was a founder of the

Casa de las Américas Casa de las Américas is an organization that was founded by the Cuban Government in April 1959, four months after the Cuban Revolution, for the purpose of developing and extending the socio-cultural relations with the countries of Latin America, ...

publishing house. He is best known for his poetry.

Life

He did his primary studies with the Breton Brothers of Christian Instruction. His father died in 1936, and René Depestre left his mother, his two brothers and his two sisters to go live with his maternal grandmother. From 1940 to 1944, he completed his secondary studies at the Pétion college in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

. His birthplace is often evoked in his poetry and his novels, in particular '' Hadriana in All My Dreams'' (1988). ''Étincelles'' (Sparks), his first collection of poetry, appeared in 1945, prefaced by Edris Saint-Amand. He was only nineteen years old when the work was published. The poems were influenced by the marvelous realism of

Alejo Carpentier Alejo Carpentier y Valmont (, ; December 26, 1904 – April 24, 1980) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, of French an ...

, who planned a conference on this subject in Haiti in 1942. Depestre created a weekly magazine with three friends: Baker, Alexis, and

Gérald Bloncourt Gérald Bloncourt (4 November 1926 – 29 October 2018), also known as Gérard Bloncourt, was a Haitian painter and photographer resident in the suburbs of Paris, France. Born in the small city of Bainet, in Haiti's Sud-Est department, Bloncour ...

: The Hive (1945–46). “One wanted to help the Haitians to become aware of their capacity to renew the historical foundations of their identity” (quote from ''Le métier à métisser''). The Haitian government at the time seized the 1945 edition which was published in honor of

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...

, which led to the insurrection of 1946. Depestre met with all his Haitian intellectual contemporaries, including

Jean Price-Mars Jean Price-Mars (15 October 1876 – 1 March 1969) was a Haitian doctor, teacher, politician, diplomat, writer, and ethnographer.Léon Laleau, and René Bélance, who wrote the preface to his second collection, ''Gerbe de sang'', in 1946. He also met with foreign intellectuals. He took part in and directed the revolutionary student movements of January 1946, which led to the overthrow of President

Élie Lescot Antoine Louis Léocardie Élie Lescot (December 9, 1883 – October 20, 1974) was the President of Haiti from May 15, 1941 to January 11, 1946. He was a member of the country's mixed-race elite. He used the political climate of World War II to s ...

. The Army very quickly seized power, and Depestre was arrested and imprisoned before being exiled. He pursued his studies in letters and political science at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

from 1946 - 1950. In Paris, he met French

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

poets as well as foreign artists, and intellectuals of the ''

négritude ''Négritude'' (from French "Nègre" and "-itude" to denote a condition that can be translated as "Blackness") is a framework of critique and literary theory, developed mainly by francophone intellectuals, writers, and politicians of the African ...

'' (Black) movement who coalesced around

Alioune Diop Alioune Diop (10 January 1910 – 2 May 1980) was a Senegalese writer and editor, founder of the intellectual journal ''Présence africaine'', and a central figure in the ''Négritude'' movement.Présence Africaine ''Présence Africaine'' is a pan-African quarterly cultural, political, and literary magazine, published in Paris, France, and founded by Alioune Diop in 1947. In 1949, ''Présence Africaine'' expanded to include a publishing house and a bookstore ...

''. Depestre took an active part in the decolonization movements in France, and he was expelled from French territory. He left for

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, from where he was driven out in 1952. He went to Cuba, invited by the writer

Nicolás Guillén Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista (10 July 1902 – 17 July 1989) was a Cuban poet, journalist, political activist, and writer. He is best remembered as the national poet of Cuba.

, where again he was stopped and expelled by the government of

Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...

. He was denied entry by France and Italy. He left for Austria, then

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. He remained in Chile long enough to organize, with Pablo Neruda and Jorge Amado, the Continental Congress of Culture. After Brazil, Depestre returned to Paris in 1956 where he met other Haitians, including

Jacques Stephen Alexis Jacques Stephen Alexis (Gonaïves, Haiti, 22 April 1922– Casernes Dessalines, Haiti, c. 22 April 1961) was a Haitian communist novelist, poet, and activist. He is best known for his novel ''Compère Général Soleil'' (1955). Biography Alex ...

. He took part in the first Pan-African congress organized by Présence Africaine in September 1956. He wrote in ''Présence Africaine'' and other journals of the time such as ''Esprit'', and ''Lettres Francaises''. He returned to Haiti in (1956–57). Refusing to collaborate with the Duvalierist regime, he called on Haitians to resist, and was placed under house arrest. Depestre left for Cuba in 1959, at the invitation of

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

. Convinced of the aims of the Cuban Revolution, he helped with managing the country (Ministry for Foreign Relations, National Publishing, National Council of Culture, Radio Havana-Cuba, ''Las Casas de las Américas'', The Committee for the Preparation of the Cultural Congress of Havana in 1967). Depestre travelled, taking part in official activities (the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, China,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, etc.) and took part in the first Pan-African Cultural Festival (

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, 1969), where he met the Congolese writer

Henri Lopes Henri Lopes (born 12 September 1937)''International Who's Who of Authors and Writers 2004'', Europa Publications, p. 339.

, with whom he would work later, at

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. During his various travels and his stay in Cuba, Rene Depestre continued working on a major piece of poetry. His most famous collection of poetry is undoubtedly ''Un arc-en-ciel pour l'Occident chrétien'' (Rainbow for the Christian Occident) (1967), a mix of politics, eroticism, and Voudoo, topics that are found in all of his works. Poet in Cuba (1973) is a reflection on the evolution of the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...

. Pushed aside by the Castrist régime in 1971, Depestre broke with the Cuban experiment in 1978 and went back to Paris where he worked at the UNESCO Secretariat. In 1979, in Paris, he published ''Le Mat de Cocagne'', his first novel. In 1980, he published ''Alléluia pour une femme-jardin'', for which he was awarded the

Prix Goncourt de la nouvelle The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

in 1982. Depestre left UNESCO in 1986 and retired in the

Aude Aude (; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it "Ca ...

region of France. In 1988, he published ''Hadriana in All My Dreams'', which received many literary awards, including the Prix Théophraste Renaudot, the Prix de la Société des Gens de Lettres, the Prix Antigone of the town of Montpellier, and the Belgian Prix du Roman de l'Académie royale de la langue et de la littérature françaises. He obtained French citizenship in 1991. He continued to receive awards and honors, in particular the Prix Apollinaire de poésie for his personal Anthology (1993) and the Italian Grisane Award for the theatrical adaptation of ''Mat de Cocagne'' in 1995, as well as bursaries (Bourse du Centre National du Livre, in 1994, and a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in 1995). He was the subject of a documentary film by

Jean-Daniel Lafond Jean-Daniel Lafond (born 18 August 1944) is a French-born Canadian filmmaker, teacher of philosophy, and the husband to the former Governor General Michaëlle Jean, making him the Viceregal Consort of Canada during her service. Biography Lafon ...

, ''Haiti in All Our Dreams'', filmed in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

(1996). Depestre also published major essays. ''Bonjour et adieu à la négritude'' (Hello and Good-bye to Négritude) presents a reflexion on his ambivalent position regarding the négritude movement started by

Léopold Sédar Senghor Léopold Sédar Senghor (; ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist who was the first president of Senegal (1960–80). Ideologically an African socialist, he was the major theoretician o ...

Aimé Césaire Aimé Fernand David Césaire (; ; 26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was a French poet, author, and politician. He was "one of the founders of the Négritude movement in Francophone literature" and coined the word in French. He founded the Par ...

and Leon-Gontran Damas. Impressed by Aime Césaire, who came to Haiti to speak about surrealism and négritude, he was fascinated by

créole Creole may refer to: Anthropology * Creole peoples, ethnic groups which originated from linguistic, cultural, and often racial mixing of colonial-era emigrants from Europe with non-European peoples * Criollo people, the historic name of people ...

life, or the créolo-francophonie, which did not stop him from questioning the concept of négritude. Rebellious of the concept since his youth, which he associated with ethnic essentialism, he measured the historical range and situated the movement in the world history of ideas. He revisited this topic (critical re-situation of the movement) in his two collections, ''Ainsi parle le fleuve noir'' (1998) and ''Le Métier à métisser'' (1998). He paid homage to Césaire and his visionary work within the context of the créole movement in Martinique: “Césaire with only one word ended this empty debate: at the start of historical decolonization, In Haiti and around the world, there is the genius of Toussaint Louverture” (''Le Métier à métisser'' 25). His experience in Cuba - his fascination and his falling out with the “castrofidelism” ideology and its constraints - is also examined in these two texts, as well as marvelous realism, the role of the erotic, Haitian history and the very contemporary topic of globalization. Far from seeing himself as an exile, Depestre prefers being described as a nomad with multiple roots, a “

banyan A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...

” man - in reference to the tree which he so often evokes right down to its rhizomic roots - even described as a “géo-libertin”. Rene Depestre lives today in a small village in the Aude,

Lézignan-Corbières Lézignan-Corbières (; ) is a commune in the Aude department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Situated in the Corbières wine region not far from Narbonne, it has a Vine and Wine Museum (''Musée de la Vigne et du Vin''). Geograph ...

, with his second wife, who is Cuban. He writes every morning, looking at the vineyards, just as he used to devour the view of Jacmel Bay from his grandmother's veranda. His work has been published in the United States, the former Soviet Union, France, Germany, Italy, Cuba, Peru, Brazil, Vietnam, the former German Democratic Republic (East-Germany), Argentina, Denmark and Mexico. His first volume of poetry, ''Sparks'' (Etincelles) was published in Port-au-Prince in 1945. Other publications include ''Gerbe de sang'' (Port-au-Prince, 1946), ''Végétation de clartés'', preface by Aimé Césaire, (Paris, 1951), ''Traduit du grand large, poème de ma patrie enchainée'', (Paris, 1952), ''Minerai noir'', (Paris, 1957), ''Journal d'un animal marin'' (Paris, 1964), ''Un arc-en-ciel pour l'occident chrétien poeme mystère vaudou'', (Paris, 1966). His poetry has appeared in many French, Spanish and German anthologies and collections. More current works include ''Anthologie personnelle'' (1993) and ''Actes sud'', for which he received the Prix Apollinaire. He has spent many years in France, and was awarded the French literary prize, the

prix Renaudot The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or Prix Renaudot () is a French literary award. History The prize was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt. While not officially related to the ...

, in 1988 for his work ''Hadriana dans Tous mes Rêves''. He lives in

. He is a special envoy of UNESCO for Haiti. He is the uncle of

Michaëlle Jean Michaëlle Jean (; born September 6, 1957) is a Canadian stateswoman and former journalist who served from 2005 to 2010 as governor general of Canada, the 27th since Canadian Confederation. She is the first Haitian Canadian and black person ...

, the

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

of Canada from 2005 to 2010.

Selected works

Poetry * ''Etincelles'', Port-au-Princ: Imprimerie de l'Etat, 1945 * ''Gerbes de Sang'', Port-au-Prince: Imprimerie de l'Etat, 1946 * ''Végétations de Clarté'', Paris: Seghers, 1951 * ''Traduit du Grand Large, poème de ma patrie enchainée'', Paris: Seghers, 1952 * ''Minerai noir'', Paris: Présence Africaine, 1956 * ''Un arc-en-ciel pour l'occident chrétien, poème mystère vaudou, 1966 * ''Journal d'un animal marin'', Paris: Présence Africaine, 1967 * ''Cantate d'Octobre à la Vie et à la Mort du Commandant Ernesto Che Guevara'', Havana: Institudo del Libro, 1968 * ''Poète à Cuba", Paris: Pierre Jean Oswald, 1976 * ''En etat de poésie'', Paris: Les Editeurs français réunis, 1980 * ''Lettre à un poète du marronnage'', Bois Pluriel, 1988 * ''Au Matin de la négritude'', Paris: Euroeditor, 1990 * ''Anthologie personelle'', Arles: Actes Sud, 1993 * "Ode à Malcolm X: Grande Brigitte", in ''Literature Moderne du Monde Francophone'', by Peter Thompson. Chicago: National Textbook Company (McGraw-Hill), 1997, * ''Un Eté indien de la parole'', Double Cloche, 2001 * ''Non-assistance à poète en danger'', Paris: Seghers, 2005 * ''Rage de vivre. Oeuvres poétiques complètes'', Paris: Seghers, 2007 Novels and short stories * ''El Paso Ensebado'' (in Spanish),Keith A. P. Sandiford, ''A Black Studies Primer: Heroes and Heroines of the African Diaspora'', Hansib Publications, 2008, p. 147. 1975 * ''Le Mât de cocagne'', Paris: Gallimard, 1979 * ''Alléluia pour une femme jardin'', Paris: Gallimard, 1981 * '' Hadriana dans Tous mes Rêves'', Paris: Gallimard, 1988 - Prix Renaudot * ''Eros dans un train chinois'', Paris: Gallimard, 1990 * "La mort coupée sur mesure", in ''Noir des îles'', Paris: Gallimard, 1995 * "Un rêve japonais", in ''Le Serpent à plumes. Récits et fictions courtes'', Paris: Le Serpent à plumes, 1993 * ''L'oeillet ensorcelé'', Paris: Gallimard, 2006 Essays * ''Pour la révolution pour la poésie'', Paris: Leméac, 1974 * ''Bonjour et Adieu à la Négritude'', Paris: Robert Laffont, 1980 * ''Le Métier à métisser'', Paris: Stock, 1998 * ''Ainsi parle le fleuve noir'', Paroles de l'Aube, 1998

References

Sources

* * (In French) * http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/ile.en.ile/paroles/depestre.html (Original in French)

External links

*
"Rene Depestre"
Mohamed B. Taleb-Khyar, ''Callaloo'', Vol. 15, No. 2, ''Haitian Literature and Culture'', Part 1 (Spring, 1992), pp. 550–554
René Depestre on Haiti’s earthquake: Endless tragedy
8 February 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Depestre, Rene 1926 births Haitian communists Haitian male poets Living people University of Paris alumni Communist poets People from Jacmel Prix Renaudot winners Prix Goncourt de la nouvelle recipients Prix Guillaume Apollinaire winners 20th-century Haitian poets Haitian expatriates in Cuba Haitian expatriates in France