Josaphat-Robert Large (November 15, 1942 – October 28, 2017) was a Euro-Haitian-American poet, novelist and art critic. His novel ''Les terres entourées de larmes'' hore surrounded with tearswon the prestigious

Prix littéraire des Caraïbes The Prix littéraire des Caraïbes (''Caribbean Literary Prize'') is a French literary award which was created in 1964 by l’Association des Écrivains de langue française (Association of French language writers). The award honors a writer fro ...

(Caribbean literary Prize) in 2003. 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 ...

Gary Klang Gary Klang (born December 28, 1941, in Port-au-Prince Haiti), is a Haitian-Canadian poet and novelist. Since 2007, he is the president of the prestigious "Conseil des Écrivains francophones d'Amérique" (Committee, Council of America's francophone ...

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 ...

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 winner of the Prize). Large was also one of the finalists at the

Ushant Ushant (; br, Eusa, ; french: Ouessant, ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and, in medieval terms, Léon. In lower tiers of govern ...

(Ouessant in French) Literary Contest in 2002. He wrote in both French and Haitian Creole. Josaphat-Robert Large was a member of " La Société des Gens de Lettres de France" (Society of French intellectuals), of the "Association des Écrivains 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 ...

America. The Society of French and francophone teachers of America has organized two colloquium on his literary production (specially his novels), one at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

in 2001 and one at Fordham University in 2006. Large also participated in the famous festival Étonnants-Voyageurs in 2007 and in 2008, he was one of the author in the great

literary Literature is any collection of 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 include ...

opening organized in Port-au-Prince by the Presses Nationales d'Haiti (National Press of Haiti).

Exile

Josaphat-Robert Large left Haiti at the end of 1963, after being arrested during a student strike against the regime of

Papa Doc Duvalier Papa is a word used in many languages as an affectionate term for father. Papa or PAPA may refer to: Geography and geology * Pápa, a town in Hungary * Papa village (Samoa), on the island of Savai'i *Papa, Scotland, various islands *Papa rock ...

. In New York, he studied English at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and photography at New York institute of Photography. He was a founding member of La Troupe de Théâtre Kouidor (Theatre group Kouidor) and frequently wrote for Haitian newspapers such as Haïti Progrès, Haïti en Marche, Le Nouvelliste and Lire Haiti.

Death

Large died of cancer in 2017.

Selected works

*''Nerfs du vent'' – Compilation of Poems, Paris, 1975. Rev. ed. Publisher: Ruptures,

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, 2013 *''Chute de mots'' – Compilation of Poems, Paris, 1989 *''Les sentiers de l'enfer'' – Novel, Paris, 1990 *''Pè Sèt'' ! – Compilation of Poems Written in Creole, Miami, 1994, reed. 1996 *''Les récoltes de la folie'' – Novel, Paris, 1996 *''Les terres entourées de larmes'' – Novel, Paris, 2002 *''Keep on Keepin'On'', English translation of ''Pè Sèt'' ! by

Jack Hirschman Jack Hirschman (December 13, 1933 – August 22, 2021) was an American poet and social activist who wrote more than 100 volumes of poetry and essays. Biography Hirschman was born in New York City to a Russian Jewish family. He received a B.A. ...

, iUniverse, 2006 *''Rete! Kote Lamèsi'' – Novel written in Haitian Creole, Port-au-Prince, 2008. *''Partir sur un coursier de nuages'' – Novel, Paris, 2008. *''Échos en fuite'' – Compilation of Poems, Paris, 2010 *''Istwa Nanm Mwen'' – Compilation of Poems Written in Haitian Creole, Port-au-Prince, 2010 *''Jérémie et sa Verdoyante Grand'Anse'' – Photography and Poems, Coconut Creek, 2012 *''Le Domic'île'' – Compilation of Poems, New York, 2012 *''Rekot Powetik'' – Poems from Students of Ecole Normale de Marfranc, in French and Haitian Creole, Edited by Josaphat-R Large, Ruptures,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, 2013 *''Mississippi Blues'' – Novel, published by Ruptures, Washington, D.C., 2015

Compact discs

*''Eko Dlo'' aGrandans debòde– Poems in Creole with background music by Haitian pianist Eddy Prophète, Montréal, 2006 *''5 Années de Textes et de Chansons des Vendredis littéraires'', Poems in French and in Creole by

Lyonel Trouillot Lyonel Trouillot (born 31 December 1956, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti) is a novelist and poet in French and Haitian Creole, a journalist and a professor of French and Creole literature in Port-au-Prince. Early life Lyonel Trouillot was born in a fami ...

, Claude Pierre and Josaphat-Robert Large, August 2000.

Play

*''La voix du Bisaïeul'' – Play in French (Stage Director Max Kénol), New York July 1998 *'' Dany Laferriere en pyjama'' – Presented at United Nations (Stage Director Max Kénol), New York, February 2014 *''Les colis de la traite'' – Play written for La Semaine des victimes de l'esclavage for United Nations, (Stage Director Max Kénol), NY 2014

Short Story

*''Rosanna'' – Mystery fiction in "Haiti Noir", Edited by

Akashic Books Akashic Books is a Brooklyn-based independent publisher. Akashic Books' collection began with Arthur Nersesian's ''The Fuck Up'' in 1997, and has since expanded to include Dennis Cooper's "Little House on the Bowery" series, Chris Abani's Blac ...

, New York, 2011 *'' Dark Days in Port-au-Prince'',

Exquisite Corpse Exquisite corpse (from the original French term ', literally exquisite cadaver), is a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule (e.g. ...

, Part 5 by J-R Large, Part 2 by Ibi Zoboi,Part 1-6 by

Roxane Gay Roxane Gay (born October 15, 1974) is an American writer, professor, editor, and social commentator. Gay is the author of ''The New York Times'' best-selling essay collection '' Bad Feminist'' (2014), as well as the short story collection ''Ayit ...

, Part 3 by Jessica Fievre, Part 4 by K Ulysse,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, NY, 2014

Awards

*Prix littéraire des Caraïbes 2003 aribbean literary Prizegiven by L'Association des Ecrivains de langue française (The Association of French writers) *Finaliste Concours Ouessant, 2002 (Finalist

literary contest, in August 2002). *Nominated for Haitian Grand Literary Prize in 2004, at the

Miami Book Fair International The Miami Book Fair is an annual two-day street fair and literary festival organized by Miami Dade College. The fair brings over 300 national and international authors exhibitors to a weeklong gathering and includes pavilions for translation, ...

of 2004. *Finaliste Carbet Prize 2008 with Novel ''Partir sur un coursier de nuages''

References

External links

*Official Site: with breath taking photos of a few cities in Hait

*Author file at île en île (in French

br /> with biography, 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 t ...

*Poems by Josaphat-Robert Large and

Félix Morisseau-Leroy Félix Morisseau-Leroy (13 March 1912 – 5 September 1998), was a Haitian writer who used Haitian Creole to write poetry and plays, the first significant writer to do so. By 1961 he succeeded in having Creole recognized as an official languag ...

translated into English, chosen by Mute Magazine of London to illustrate articles of Volume 2 #3 describing

slums A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily in ...

in places like Haiti and Brazil. Mute, volume 2 #3, August 2006

*On a Publishers' Website in France
l'Harmattan

Videos

* (Talk with Anthony Phelps) (in French) * (Reading of a poem in Creole by the author) * (Reading of a poem in French by the author) * (Talk with Gary Klang) (in French) *Josaphat-Robert Larg
answers to the 5 questions of Île en île
A 33-minute interview with professor Thomas C. Spear of CUNY, at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, on December 9, 2009

{{DEFAULTSORT:Large, Josaphat-Robert 1942 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Haitian novelists Haitian Creole-language writers Haitian male novelists Haitian people of European descent Haitian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Haitian dramatists and playwrights Haitian male dramatists and playwrights Haitian writers in French 20th-century Haitian poets Haitian male poets 21st-century Haitian novelists 21st-century Haitian poets 20th-century male writers 21st-century male writers American writers in French 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers People from Jérémie