Raphaël Confiant (born January 25, 1951) is a

Martinican Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

writer known for his literary commitment towards Creole literature.

Life and career

Raphaël Confiant was born in

Le Lorrain Le Lorrain (; Martinican Creole: ) is a town and commune in the French overseas region and department of Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the ...

, Martinique. He studied English and political science at the

Sciences Po Aix Sciences Po Aix, also referred to as Institut d'Études Politiques d'Aix-en-Provence, is a ''Grande École'' of political studies located in Aix-en-Provence, in the Provence region of southern France. It is placed under the administration of Aix- ...

and law at

Paul Cézanne University Paul Cézanne University (also referred to as Paul Cézanne University Aix-Marseille III; French: ''Université Paul Cézanne Aix-Marseille III'') was a public research university based in the heart of Provence (southern France), in both Aix-en- ...

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

, France. During the 1970s, Confiant became a militant proponent of use of the Creole language and later worked with

Jean Bernabé Jean Bernabé (1942 in Le Lorrain, Martinique – 12 April 2017 in Fort-De-France, Martinique) was a writer and linguist. Bernabé was a professor of language and culture at the Université des Antilles et de la Guyane. He was an important figur ...

and

Patrick Chamoiseau Patrick Chamoiseau (; born 3 December 1953) is a French author from Martinique known for his work in the créolité movement. His work spans a variety of forms and genres, including novels, essays, children's books, screenplays, theatre and comic ...

to create the movement. The three authors co-authored in 1989 the seminal text of the movement, , in addition to other theoretical texts. The movement is often characterized as a reaction to the movement, which emphasized the African origins of the Antillean people. Créolité, on the other hand, emphasizes the diversity of Antillean ancestry and cultural heritage, which includes Chinese, Indian, and European influences, among others. The movement seeks to understand the diverse identities and histories of the people of the

Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...

through the lens of literature and language and eschews the universal in favor of a diverse view of language and identity. Confiant is highly critical of Négritude and in 1993, he published a critique of Négritude founder

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

called ''Aimé Césaire: une traversée paradoxale du siècle (Aimé Césaire: a Paradoxical Journey Across the Century).'' Confiant is a well-known writer in both Creole and French and was a lecturer at the University of the French West Indies and Guiana (UAG). He served as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at UAG from 2013 to 2016. After publishing his first novels in Creole and suffering very poor sales, Confiant took another approach in 1988 by publishing his first French-language novel, , set in Martinique during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The novel was welcomed by the French literary crowd as a new voice in French-language literature. Narrowly missing the Goncourt Prize in 1991 with his second French novel, , Confiant has ever since continued writing in French, even translating his first Creole-language novels. The themes of some of his novels seem to be dictated by the anniversaries of French West Indian events like the 1902

Mount Pelée Mount Pelée or Mont Pelée ( ; , ; ), meaning "bald mountain" or "peeled mountain" in French, is an active volcano at the northern end of Martinique, an island and French overseas department in the Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc of the Caribbean ...

eruption (with , published in 2002) or the 1854 arrival of East-Indian indentured servants (, 2004).

Bibliography

* In Creole: ** ''Jik dèyè do Bondyé'', short stories, 1979 ** ''Jou Baré'', poems, 1981 ** ''Bitako-a'', novel, 1985 ** ''Kòd Yanm'', novel, 1986 ** ''Marisosé'', novel, 1987 ** ''Dictionnaires des titim et sirandanes'', 1997 * In French: ** ''Le Nègre et l'Amiral'', novel, 1988, Prix Antigone ** ''Eloge de la créolité'', essay, 1989 (with

and

) ** ''Lettres créoles: tracées antillaises et continentales de la littérature (1635–1975)'', essay, 1991 ** ''Eau de Café'', novel 1991, Prix Novembre ** ''Ravines du devant-jour'', narration, 1993, Prix Casa de las Americas ** ''Commandeur du sucre'', narration, 1993 ** ''Aimé Césaire, une traversée paradoxale du siècle'', essay, 1993 ** ''L'Allée des Soupirs'', novel, 1994, Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde ** ''Bassin des ouragans'', narration, 1994 ** ''Les maîtres de la parole créole'', story, 1995 ** ''Contes créoles'', story, 1995 ** ''Le Gouverneur des dés'', narration, 1995 ** ''Mamzelle Libellule'', novel, 1995 ** ''La Savane des pétrifications'', narration, 1995 ** ''La Vierge du Grand Retour'', novel, 1996 ** ''La baignoire de Joséphine'', narration, 1997 ** ''Le Meurtre de Samedi-Gloria'', novel, 1997, Prix RFO du livre ** ''L'archet du colonel'', novel, 1998 ** ''Régisseur du rhum'', narration, 1999 ** ''Le Cahier de Romance'', narration, 2000 ** ''Brin d'amour'', novel, 2001 ** ''Nuée ardente'', narration, 2002 ** ''La Panse du Chacal'', novel, 2004 ** ''Adele et la Pacotillieuse'', novel, 2005 ** ''Trilogie tropicale'', 2006 ** ''Nègre marron'', 2006 ** ''Case à Chine'', 2007 ** ''Les Ténèbres extérieures'', 2008 ** ''Black is Black'', 2008 ** ''Le Chien fou et le Fromager'', 2008 ** ''L'Hôtel du Bon Plaisir'', 2009 ** ''La Jarre d'or'', 2010 ** ''Citoyens au-dessus de tout soupçon'', roman policier, 2010 ** ''Du rififi chez les fils de la veuve'', roman policier, 2012 ** ''Rue des Syriens'', 2012 ** ''Les Saint-Aubert, L'en-allée du siècle 1900-1920'', 2012 ** ''Bal masqué à Békéland'', roman policier, 2013 ** ''Le Bataillon créole'', 2013 ** ''Les Saint-Aubert, Les trente-douze mille douleurs 1920-1940'', 2014 ** ''Citoyens au-dessus de tout soupçon...'', 2014 ** ''Madame St-Clair, reine de Harlem'', 2015 ** ''Du rififi chez les fils de la veuve'', 2017 ** ''L'épopée mexicaine de Romulus Bonnaventure'', 2018 ** ''L'Enlèvement du mardi gras,'' 2019 ** ''Grand Café Martinique'', 2020 ** ''Deux détonations'', 2020 ** ''Du Morne-des-Esses au Djebel'', 2020 ** ''La Muse ténébreuse de Charles Baudelaire'', 2021

References

External links

* Curry, Ginette. "Toubab La!": Literary Representations of Mixed-race Characters in the African Diaspora.Cambridge Scholars Pub., Newcastle, England.200

{{DEFAULTSORT:Confiant 1951 births Living people People from Le Lorrain Martiniquais writers French people of Martiniquais descent French male writers Paul Cézanne University alumni Sciences Po Aix alumni Prix Décembre winners Créolité