Gary Klang (born December 28, 1941, 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 ...

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-Canadian Haitian Canadians are Canadian citizens of Haitian descent or Haiti-born people who reside in Canada. As of 2016, more than 86% of Haitian Canadians reside in Quebec. Haitian Migration to Canada Immigration 1960-1980 Immigration from Haiti ...

poet and novelist. Since 2007, he is the president of the prestigious "Conseil des Écrivains francophones d'Amérique" (

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

of America's francophone writers). Klang's work is very

rich Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...

. It includes novels, poetry,

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

and essays. On July 14, 2000, "l'Union Française à Montréal" (the French Union of

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 ...

) chose Gary as the promoter of the French national holiday marking the storming of the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was sto ...

. The same day, the same French Union participated in the launch of his

collection Collection or Collections may refer to: * Cash collection, the function of an accounts receivable department * Collection (church), money donated by the congregation during a church service * Collection agency, agency to collect cash * Collectio ...

of verses "La terre est vide comme une étoile". Gary Klang is also a member of the "Association des Ecrivains Québécois (UNEQ)" (Association of Quebec's writers), a member of the "Association des Ecrivains de langue française" (Association of writers of French origin) and of the

PEN Club PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internation ...

of Montreal. He was nominated for the Haitian grand Literary Prize of 2004, together with

Edwidge Danticat Edwidge Danticat (; born January 19, 1969) is a Haitian-American novelist and short story writer. Her first novel, ''Breath, Eyes, Memory'', was published in 1994 and went on to become an Oprah's Book Club selection. Danticat has since written or ...

René Depestre René Depestre (born 29 August 1926, Jacmel, Haiti) is a Haitian poet and former communist activist. He is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in Haitian literature. He lived in Cuba as an exile from the Duvalier regime for ma ...

Frankétienne Frankétienne (born Franck Étienne on April 12, 1936, in Ravine-Sèche, Haiti) is a Haitian writer, poet, playwright, painter, musician, activist and intellectual. He is recognized as one of Haiti's leading writers and playwrights of both Fre ...

Dany Laferrière Dany Laferrière (born Windsor Kléber Laferrière, 13 April 1953) is a Haitian-Canadian novelist and journalist who writes in French. He was elected to seat 2 of the Académie française on 12 December 2013, and inducted in May 2015. Life Bo ...

, Josaphat-Robert Large and

Leslie Manigat Leslie François Saint Roc Manigat (August 16, 1930 – June 27, 2014) was a Haitian politician who was elected as President of Haiti in a tightly controlled military held election in January 1988. He served as President for only a few months, fr ...

(Ex

President of Haiti The president of Haiti ( ht, Prezidan peyi Ayiti, french: Président d'Haïti), officially called the president of the Republic of Haiti (french: link=no, Président de la République d'Haïti, ht, link=no, Prezidan Repiblik Ayiti), is the head ...

, the winner of the Prize).

Exile

Gary Klang graduated from the "Institution Saint-Louis de Gonzague" in

. He left

in the 1960s, at the worst time of 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 ...

's dictatorship. In Paris where he went, he received a PhD in literature at

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon ...

. His thesis is on

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

, the famous French novelist. It was in France that Gary met Maggy, the French student from

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

who later became his wife. In 1973, they left together for Canada where they settled in

. At first, Gary has been a professor of stylistics at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

. But, as he never like

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely re ...

, he changed hat and became a translator at the famous Engineering

firm A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

SNC-Lavalin. He retired from that position in 2006. Gary is very active in the French

literary Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

world. He participated in

festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

in Mali (2007),

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

(2009) and

(2007), not to mention Canada (Festival des Trois-Rivières) (200

Works

Novels

* ''Haïti! Haïti!'' written with

Anthony Phelps Anthony Phelps (born August 25, 1928) is a Haitian Canadian writer, whose novel ''La contrainte de l’inachevé'' was a Governor General's Literary Award nominee for French-language fiction at the 2007 Governor General's Awards. Born in Port-a ...

. Montréal: Libre Expression, 1985. * ''L'île aux deux visages''. Brossard (Canada): Humanitas, 1997. * ''L'adolescent qui regardait passer la vie''. Brossard (Canada): Humanitas, 1998. * ''Un homme seul est toujours en mauvaise compagnie''. Montréal: Mémoire d'encrier, 2005. * ''Monologue pour une scène vide.'' Montréal: Dialogue Nord-Sud, 2013. * ''Le massacre de Jérémie - opération vengeance'', réédition de ''Haïti ! Haïti !'' écrit en collaboration avec Anthony Phelps. Montréal: Dialogue Nord-Sud, 2015.

Poetry

* ''Ex-île''. Grenoble: Éditions de la Vague à l'âme, 1988. * ''Je veux chanter la mer, suivi de Les Fleurs ont la saveur de l'aube''. Montréal: Humanitas, 1993. * ''Moi natif natal, suivi de Le Temps du vide''. Montréal: Humanitas, 1995. * ''La terre est vide comme une étoile''. Brossard (Canada): Humanitas, 2000. * ''La vraie vie est absente''. Brossard (Canada): Humanitas, 2002. * ''Il est grand temps de rallumer les étoiles''. Montréal: Mémoire d'encrier, 2007.

Short stories

* ''Kafka m'a dit''. Longueuil: Humanitas, 2004. * ''« Elle n'avait peur de rien ». Nul n'est une île'': Solidarité

Haïti 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 so ...

. Sous la direction de Stanley Péan et Rodney Saint-Éloi. Montréal: Mémoire d'encrier, 2004: 107–115. * ''Les chiens noirs''. Montréal: Plume & Encre, 2006.

Essays

* ''La méditation transcendantale''. Montréal: Stanké, 1976. * ''Je ne veux pas mourir chauve à Montréal''. Brossard (Canada): Humanitas, 1999.

Article on the Author

* ''La bataille de

Jérémie Jérémie ( ht, Jeremi) is a commune and capital city of the Grand'Anse department in Haiti. It had a population of about 31,000 at the 2003 census. It is relatively isolated from the rest of the country. The Grande-Anse River flows near th ...

''. Jeune Afrique 1345 (October 15, 1986). * ''Ex-île au Canada''. Le Dauphiné libéré (November 16, 1988). * ''Être écrivain en exil''. Le Nouvelliste (February 1, 2001). * ''L'écrivain haïtien Gary Klang en compagnie de Rimbaud, Villon, Brassens, Léo Ferré''. Haïti en Marche (August 27, 2003). * ''L'écrivain haïtien en grande compagnie''. Le Nouvelliste (September 5–7, 2003). * Hébert, François. ''Un thriller à la sauce haïtienne, politique, action et fiction''. Le Devoir (Montréal, June 1, 1985). * Hérard, Huguette. ''L'ex-île de Klang''. Le Matin (

, September 23–25, 1989). * Jean-Gilles, Gesler. ''Gary Klang, un auteur accompli''. Haïti en Marche (January 31, 1996). * Josaphat-Robert Large. ''Gary Klang, la poésie dans le temps du vide''. Haïti en Marche (April 17, 1996). * Josaphat-Robert Large. ''Esquisses d'une écriture élégante, Je veux chanter la mer de Gary Klang''. Haïti en Marche (December 15, 1993). * Peterson, Michel. ''Je ne veux pas mourir chauve à Montréal, d'Alain Stanké à Monique LaRue, un écrivain raconte''. Nuit Blanche (

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

) 76 (1999): 28. * Saint-Cyr, Guy-Robert. ''Gary Klang ou le regard d'un adolescent sur la vie''. Le Nouvelliste (July 21, 1999). * Saint-Cyr, Guy-Robert. ''Considérations sur l'œuvre de Gary Klang''. Haïti en Marche (February 4, 2004). * Saint-Cyr, Guy-Robert. ''Les confidences de Kafka. Propos sur la dernière publication de Gary Klang''. Le Matin (Port-au-Prince) 32210 (June 30, 2004). * Sannon, Fritz-Meyer. ''L'île aux deux visages'', roman de Gary Klang. Haïtiens Aujourd'hui (fébruary-mars 1998). * Séguin, Marcel. ''Gary Klang, chantre d'Haïti''. Haïti en Marche (November 1, 1995).

Videos

* *Lecture de poèmes au Bénin (Cotonou). () *Entretien avec Josaphat-Robert Large ()

External links

*Author file at île en île (in French

br /> with biography,

bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

, links and

audio recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording te ...

*Author file at l'île (in French)

*Author file at Etonnants-Voyageur

Sources

*''La Moisson littéraire''. Montréal: Proteau, 1993: 1–9. *''101 Poètes en Québec''. Montréal: Guérin, 1995: 223–225. *''Vingt ans d'Estuaire''. Montréal: Estuaire, 1996: 146. *''Le dernier poème du millénaire''. Montréal: Estuaire, 1999: 105. *''Dictionnaire des poètes d'ici de 1606 à nos jours''. Montréal: Guérin, 2001: 552. *''Le 11 septembre des poètes du Québec''. Montréal: Trait-d'Union, 2002: 124. *''Anthologie de la poésie haïtienne contemporaine, 1945–1999'', French and

Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; ht, kreyòl ayisyen, links=no, ; french: créole haïtien, links=no, ), commonly referred to as simply ''Creole'', or ''Kreyòl'' in the Creole language, is a French-based creole language spoken by 10–12million people wor ...

texts collected by Raymond Philoctète. Montréal: Cidihca, 1998: 148–151. *''Panorama de la littérature haïtienne de la diaspora. Pierre-Raymond Dumas. Port-au-Prince: L'Imprimateur II, 2000: 268–271. *''Toute terre est prison'', poème. Une journée haïtienne, by Thomas C. Spear. Montréal: Mémoire d'encrier / Paris: Présence africaine, 2007: 67–70. {{DEFAULTSORT:Klang, Gary 1941 births Living people People from Port-au-Prince Haitian male novelists Haitian Quebecers Haitian male dramatists and playwrights Haitian emigrants to Canada Haitian male poets Canadian novelists in French Canadian poets in French Canadian dramatists and playwrights in French 20th-century Haitian poets 20th-century Haitian novelists 21st-century Haitian poets 21st-century Haitian novelists 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian male novelists Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Canadian male poets 21st-century Canadian male writers