Gary Klang (born December 28, 1941, in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

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 ...

), is a

Haitian-Canadian Haitian Canadians () are Canadians 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 to ...

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 taste, flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling **Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated c ...

. It includes novels, poetry,

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single 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 old ...

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

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

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

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known 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 stormed by a ...

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

collection Collection or Collections may refer to: Computing * Collection (abstract data type), the abstract concept of collections in computer science * Collection (linking), the act of linkage editing in computing * Garbage collection (computing), autom ...

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 Internati ...

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 ...

, René Depestre,

Frankétienne Jean-Pierre Basilic Dantor Franck Étienne d'Argent (; 12 April 1936 – 20 February 2025), known by his pen name Frankétienne, was a Haitian writer, poet, playwright, and painter. He is recognized as one of Haiti's leading writers and playwrig ...

Dany Laferrière Dany Laferrière (; born Windsor Klébert Laferrière, 13 April 1953) is a writer and filmmaker. He was elected to seat 2 of the Académie française on 12 December 2013, and inducted in May 2015. Born in Haiti, he lives between Montreal and P ...

, 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, ...

(Ex

President of Haiti The president of Haiti (, ), officially called the president of the Republic of Haiti (, , ), is the head of state of Haiti. Executive power in Haiti is divided between the president and the government, which is headed by the prime minister of ...

, 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 surname, and may refer to: * François Duvalier François Duvalier (; 14 April 190721 April 1971), also known as Papa Doc, was a Haiti, Haitian politician and Haitian Vodou, Vodouisant who served as the president of Haiti ...

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

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University () is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the Unive ...

. His thesis is on

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'' and more r ...

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

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

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 Stylistics, a branch of applied linguistics, is the study and interpretation of texts of all types, but particularly literary texts, and spoken language with regard to their linguistic and tonal style, where style is the particular variety of l ...

at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) 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-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

. 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 of an educational institution. Teaching is closely related ...

, 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 legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

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

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 novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

world. He participated in

festivals A festival is an event 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, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

in Mali (2007),

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

(2009) and

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

Works

Novels

* ''Haïti! Haïti!'' written with Anthony Phelps. 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, 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 ...

. 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 (; ) 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. ...

''. 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 ''Haïti en Marche'' (, ) is a weekly newspaper published in Haiti. It was founded in Miami, Florida in 1986 by Elsie Ethéart and Marcus Garcia. References

French-language newspapers published in the United States Haitian-American culture ...

(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 is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

) 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 ''bibliograph ...

, 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 ...

*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 (; , ; , ), or simply Creole (), is a French-based creole languages, French-based creole language spoken by 10 to 12million people worldwide, and is one of the two official languages of Haiti (the other being French), where it ...

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 Writers 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 Poets from Montreal Novelists from Montreal