René Philoctète (16 November 1932 – 17 July 1995) was a
Haiti
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
an poet. Born in
Jérémie
Jérémie (; ) is a commune and capital city of the Grand'Anse department in Haiti. It had a population of about 134,317 at the 2015 census. It is relatively isolated from the rest of the country. The Grande-Anse River flows near the city.
...
, some of his most notable poems are ''Saison des hommes'' (1960), which was also his first published poem, ''Les Tambours du Soleil'' (1962), and ''Ces Iles qui Marchent'' (1969).
His novel ''Massacre River'' about the
Parsley massacre was translated into English by
Linda Coverdale and published by
New Directions in 2005. It is noted for its lucid metaphors and experimental prose and features a
preface
__NOTOC__
A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literature, literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a ''foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface o ...
by
Edwidge Danticat and an
introduction
Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to:
General use
* Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music
* Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...
by
Lyonel Trouillot.
References
*
1932 births
1995 deaths
Haitian male poets
20th-century Haitian poets
20th-century Haitian male writers
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