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 (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 ...

, René Depestre, Frankétienne, Gary Klang,

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 ...

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). Large was also one of the finalists at the

Ushant Ushant (; , ; , ) 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 times, Léon. In lower tiers of government, it is a commune in t ...

(Ouessant in French) Literary Contest in 2002. He wrote in both 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 ...

. 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 Internati ...

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 Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

in 2001 and one at

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

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

opening organized 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 ...

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. In New York, he studied English at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

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 ''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 ...

, 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 Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, 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,

iUniverse iUniverse, founded in October 1999, is an American self-publishing company based in Bloomington, Indiana.Kevin Abourezk"iUniverse to move to Indiana" incoln Journal Star, January 22, 2008 It has been owned by Author Solutions since 2008 (which ...

, 2006 *''Rete! Kote Lamèsi'' – Novel written in

, 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

, 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 A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school ...

of Ecole Normale de Marfranc, in French and

, Edited by Josaphat-R Large, Ruptures,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, 2013 *''Mississippi Blues'' –

Novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

, 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 Frankétienne, Lyonel Trouillot, 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 Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...

in "Haiti Noir", Edited by

Akashic Books Akashic Books is a Brooklyn-based independent publisher, formed in 1997. It was started by Johnny Temple (bassist), Johnny Temple, bassist of Girls Against Boys and mid-'80s Dischord band Soulside, with the mission "to make literature more part ...

, New York, 2011 *'' Dark Days in

'', Exquisite Corpse, 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 ''Ayiti ...

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

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, 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 street fair and literary festival organized by Miami Dade College. History Miami Book Fair International, originally known as "Books by the Bay," was founded in 1984 by Miami Dade College President Eduardo J. Pa ...

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 Haiti *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 ...

*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 language ...

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 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 ...

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 The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

, at the

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research library of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and an archive repository for information on people of African descent worldwide. Located at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue) be ...

, 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 French 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