Félix Morisseau-Leroy
Félix Morisseau-Leroy | |
---|---|
Born | Grand-Gosier, Haiti | March 13, 1912
Died | September 5, 1998 | (aged 86)
Occupation | Writer, poet |
Félix Morisseau-Leroy (13 March 1912 – 5 September 1998) was a
Early life and education
Born in
Marriage and family
Morisseau-Leroy married Renée in Jacmel, and always said she inspired his poetry. They had two sons and a daughter.[1]
Career
After returning from the US to Haiti, he taught in the capital Port-au-Prince.[1] He began to pay more attention to the Creole of the streets and to think of its power as a written language to unite the country. At that time, French was used by the educated classes, and Creole was the language of the common people.[1]
Morisseau-Leroy taught literature and theater, and also worked as a writer and journalist. He was appointed to political offices in government, including director in the Haitian Ministry of Public Instruction and General Director of National Education.
Known informally as "Moriso", he was a father of the
The rise of
Morisseau-Leroy was invited to France to produce Wa Kreyon in Paris.
He next moved to Ghana, where he taught and headed the national theatre as colonialism was ending. He taught in Ghana for seven years, then moved to Senegal, where he taught until 1979. Other Haitian writers exiled by Duvalier to Senegal included Jean Brierre, Gérard Chenet and Roger Dorsinville.[2]
Morisseau-Leroy last moved in 1981 to
In 1991, his work was included in a collection of English translations (by Jeffrey Knapp, Marie Marcelle Buteau Racine, Marie Helene Laraque, and Suze Baron), Haitiad and Oddities, published in Miami. It contains "Natif Natal," originally written in French, and 12 poems, including "Boat People," "Thank You Dessalines," and "Water," originally written in Haitian Creole. In 1995 he published his last work, an epic novel of Haiti of which he was proud, entitled Les Djons d'Haiti Tom (People of Haiti with Courage).[1]
He died in Miami in 1998.
Influence
- Dyakout I (Diacoute) (1953) collection of poetry, and other works in Creole have been published in translation in six languages.
- In addition, Morisseau published critical work on Creole, Haitian French, and French national literature.
- Through his teaching and leadership, Morisseau helped create national literature and theater of Ghana and Senegal.
- His teaching in Miami, Florida, encouraged immigrants, descendants and others to study and write in Haitian Creole, as well as leading to the academic study of Creole in the US.[1]
Honors and legacy
- Authors have dedicated plays and volumes of poetry to Morisseau-Leroy.
- A street in Miami, Florida's Little Haiti neighborhood was named after him.[1]
- In 1991 Morisseau-Leroy was invited by Jean-Bertrand Aristide to Haiti to be a guest speaker at his inauguration. There Aristide affirmed Creole as an official language.[1]
- The Canadian journal Étincelles named Morisseau as Writer of the Year.[4]
- The 13 March 1992 issue of Finesse magazine (published in New York) was a collective tribute to Morisseau's 80th birthday.[4]
- In 1994 the French journal Sapriphage devoted a special edition to his work called Haiti's Presence.[4]
Selected works
- Plénitudes (1940), poetry
- Natif-natal, conte en vers (1948), short story in verse
- Dyakout (Diacoute) (1951), poetry
- Wa Kreyon (Antigone) in Kreyòl (1953), play adapted for Haiti[2]
- Haitiad and Oddities (1991), poetry
- Les Djons d'Haiti Tom (People of Haiti with Courage) (1995)
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Nick Caistor, "Obituary: Felix Morisseau-Leroy", The Independent, London, 11 September 1998, accessed 28 March 2019.
- ^ a b c "Biography of Felix Morisseau-Leroy", in French, with bibliography, Lehman Library, City University of New York, accessed 28 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Happy Birthday, Felix Morrisseau-Leroy", 13 March 2006, Geoffrey Philp blog spot, accessed 14 August 2008.
- ^ a b c Paul Laraque, "In Memoriam: Felix Morisseau-Leroy (1912-1998)" Archived 2008-10-11 at the Wayback Machine, Left Curve, No.23, accessed 14 Aug 2008
References
- Schutt-Ainé, Patricia (1994). Haiti: A Basic Reference Book. Miami, Florida: Librairie Au Service de la Culture. p. 104. ISBN 0-9638599-0-0.
External links
- "Portrait of the Poet". Audio documentary including readings by the poet
- "Félix Morisseau-Leroy", Famous Haitians
- "Two for Two: Theatre Mapou and Antigone", Echo d'Haiti
- Program 5 contains five video links of Morisseau speaking, his bio, his poetry, Library, University of Miami
- "Mèsi Papa Desalin", honoring Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Louverture Project
- "Eminans: a story for singing", English translation, Green Integer, Online review