René Depestre
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René Depestre (born 29 August 1926,
Jacmel Jacmel (; ) is a commune in southern Haiti founded by the Spanish in 1504 and repopulated by the French in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est, 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Port-au-Prince across the Tiburon Peninsula, and ...
,
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-French poet and former
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
activist. He is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in
Haitian literature Haitian literature has been closely intertwined with the political life of Haiti. Haitian intellectuals turned successively or simultaneously to African traditions, France, Latin America, the UK, and the United States. At the same time, Haitian h ...
. He lived in
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
as an exile from 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 ...
regime for many years and was a founder of the
Casa de las Américas Casa de las Américas is an organization that was founded by the Cuban Government in April 1959, four months after the Cuban Revolution, for the purpose of developing and extending the socio-cultural relations with the countries of Latin America, ...
publishing house. He is best known for his poetry.


Life

Depestre did his primary studies with the
bretons The Bretons (; or , ) are an ethnic group native to Brittany, north-western France. Originally, the demonym designated groups of Common Brittonic, Brittonic speakers who emigrated from Dumnonia, southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwal ...
Brothers of Christian Instruction The Brothers of Christian Instruction (, F.I.C.P.''Ann. Pont. 2007'', p. 1499.), commonly known as the La Mennais Brothers, is a Catholic educational organization founded in 1819 by Gabriel Deshayes and Jean-Marie de la Mennais for the instruct ...
. His father died in 1936, and René Depestre left his mother, his two brothers and his two sisters to go live with his maternal grandmother. From 1940 to 1944, he completed his secondary studies at the Pétion college 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 ...
. His birthplace is often evoked in his poetry and his novels, in particular '' Hadriana in All My Dreams'' (1988). ''Étincelles'' (Sparks), his first collection of poetry, appeared in 1945, prefaced by Edris Saint-Amand. He was only nineteen years old when the work was published. The poems were influenced by the marvelous realism of
Alejo Carpentier Alejo Carpentier y Valmont (, ; December 26, 1904 – April 24, 1980) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, of French ...
, who planned a conference on this subject in Haiti in 1942. Depestre created a weekly magazine with three friends: Baker, Alexis, and
Gérald Bloncourt Gérald Bloncourt (4 November 1926 – 29 October 2018), also known as Gérard Bloncourt, was a Haitian painter and photographer resident in the suburbs of Paris, France. Born in the small city of Bainet, in Haiti's Sud-Est department, Bloncour ...
: The Hive (1945–46). "One wanted to help the Haitians to become aware of their capacity to renew the historical foundations of their identity" (quote from ''Le métier à métisser''). The Haitian government at the time seized the 1945 edition, published in honor of
André Breton André Robert Breton (; ; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...
, which led to the insurrection of 1946. Depestre met with all his Haitian intellectual contemporaries, including
Jean Price-Mars Jean Price-Mars (15 October 1876 – 1 March 1969) was a Haitian medical doctor, teacher, politician, diplomat, writer, and ethnographer.Léon Laleau Léon Laleau (3 August 1892 – 7 September 1979) was a Haitian writer, politician, and diplomat. Laleau is still recognized "as one of the most brilliant writers of his time".P. Schutt-Ainé, ''Haiti: A Basic Reference Book'', 97 He received severa ...
, and
René Bélance René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...
, who wrote the preface to his second collection, ''Gerbe de sang'', in 1946. He also met with foreign intellectuals. He took part in and directed the revolutionary student movements of January 1946, which led to the overthrow of President
Élie Lescot Antoine Louis Léocardie Élie Lescot (; December 9, 1883 – October 20, 1974) was the President (government title), President of Haiti from May 15, 1941 to January 11, 1946. He was a member of the country's mixed-race elite. He used the politic ...
. The Army very quickly seized power, and Depestre was arrested and imprisoned before being exiled. He pursued his studies in letters and political science at the Sorbonne from 1946 to 1950. In Paris, he met French
surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
poets as well as foreign artists, and intellectuals of the ''
négritude ''Négritude'' (from French "nègre" and "-itude" to denote a condition that can be translated as "Blackness") is a framework of critique and literary theory, mainly developed by francophone intellectuals, writers, and politicians in the Africa ...
'' (Black) movement who coalesced around Alioune Diop and ''
Présence Africaine ''Présence Africaine'' (French for ''African Presence'') is a pan-African quarterly cultural, political, and literary magazine, published in Paris, France, and founded by Alioune Diop in 1947. In 1949, ''Présence Africaine'' expanded to include ...
''. Depestre took an active part in the decolonization movements in France, and he was expelled from French territory alongside his first wife, Edith Sorel, a Jewish woman of Hungarian origin. He left for
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, from where he was driven out in 1952. He went to Cuba, invited by the writer
Nicolás Guillén Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista (10 July 1902 – 16 July 1989) was a Cuban poet, journalist and political activist. He is best remembered as the national poet of Cuba.
, where again he was stopped and expelled by the government of
Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (born Rubén Zaldívar; January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who played a dominant role in Cuban politics from his initial rise to power as part of the 1933 Revolt of t ...
. He was denied entry by France and Italy. He left for Austria, then
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
,
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
and
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. He remained in Chile long enough to organize, with Pablo Neruda and Jorge Amado, the Continental Congress of Culture. After Brazil, Depestre returned to Paris in 1956 where he met other Haitians, including
Jacques Stephen Alexis Jacques Stephen Alexis (22 April 1922 – c. 22 April 1961) was a Haitian communist novelist, poet, and activist. He is best known for his novel ''Compère Général Soleil'' (1955). Biography Alexis was born in Gonaïves, the son of journali ...
. He took part in the first Pan-African congress organized by ''Présence Africaine'' in September 1956. He wrote in ''Présence Africaine'' and other journals of the time such as ''Esprit'', and ''Lettres Francaises''. He returned to Haiti in (1956–57). Refusing to collaborate with the Duvalierist regime, he called on Haitians to resist, and was placed under house arrest. Depestre left for Cuba in 1959, at the invitation of
Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...
. Convinced of the aims of the Cuban Revolution, he helped with managing the country (Ministry for Foreign Relations, National Publishing, National Council of Culture,
Radio Havana Cuba Radio Havana Cuba (, RHC) is the official government-run international broadcasting station of Cuba. It can be heard in many parts of the world, including the United States, on shortwave frequencies. Radio Havana Cuba, along with Radio Rebelde, C ...
, ''Las Casas de las Américas'', The Committee for the Preparation of the Cultural Congress of Havana in 1967). Depestre travelled, taking part in official activities (the
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, China,
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, etc.) and took part in the first
Pan-African Cultural Festival Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the Trans-Sa ...
(
Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
, 1969), where he met the Congolese writer
Henri Lopes Henri Lopes (12 September 1937 – 2 November 2023) was a Congolese writer, diplomat, and politician. He was Prime Minister of Congo-Brazzaville from 1973 to 1975, and served as Congo-Brazzaville's Ambassador to France from 1998 to 2016. Ear ...
, with whom he would work later, at
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
. During his various travels and his stay in Cuba, Rene Depestre continued working on a major piece of poetry. One of his most famous collections of poetry is ''Un arc-en-ciel pour l'Occident chrétien'' (Rainbow for the Christian Occident) (1967), a mix of politics, eroticism, and Voudoo, topics that are found in all of his works. ''Poet in Cuba'' (1973) is a reflection on the evolution of the
Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...
. Pushed aside by the Castrist régime in 1971, Depestre broke with the Cuban experiment in 1978 and went back to Paris where he worked at the UNESCO Secretariat. In 1979, in Paris, he published ''Le Mat de Cocagne'', his first novel. In 1980, he published ''Alléluia pour une femme-jardin'', for which he was awarded the
Prix Goncourt de la nouvelle The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward of only 10 euros, but resul ...
in 1982. Depestre left UNESCO in 1986 and retired in the
Aude Aude ( ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it " ...
region of France. In 1988, he published '' Hadriana in All My Dreams'', which received many literary awards, including the Prix Théophraste Renaudot, the Prix de la Société des Gens de Lettres, the Prix Antigone of the town of Montpellier, and the Belgian Prix du Roman de l'Académie royale de la langue et de la littérature françaises. He obtained French citizenship in 1991. He continued to receive awards and honors, in particular the
Prix Guillaume Apollinaire The prix Guillaume Apollinaire is a French poetry prize first awarded in 1941. It was named in honour of French writer Guillaume Apollinaire. It annually recognizes a collection of poems for its originality and modernity. Members of the jury The ...
for his ''Anthologie personnelle'' (1993) and the Italian Grisane Award for the theatrical adaptation of ''Mat de Cocagne'' in 1995, as well as bursaries (Bourse du Centre National du Livre, in 1994, and a
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
in 1995). He was the subject of a documentary film by
Jean-Daniel Lafond Jean-Daniel Lafond (born August 18, 1944) is a French-Canadian filmmaker, teacher of philosophy, and the husband to the former Governor General Michaëlle Jean, making him the viceregal consort of Canada during her service. Biography Lafond w ...
, ''Haiti in All Our Dreams'', filmed in
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 ...
(1996). Depestre also published major essays. ''Bonjour et adieu à la négritude'' (Hello and Good-bye to Négritude) presents a reflexion on his ambivalent position regarding the négritude movement started by
Léopold Sédar Senghor Léopold Sédar Senghor ( , , ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese politician, cultural theorist and poet who served as the first president of Senegal from 1960 to 1980. Ideologically an African socialist, Senghor was one ...
,
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 ...
and Leon-Gontran Damas. Impressed by Aime Césaire, who came to Haiti to speak about surrealism and négritude, he was fascinated by
créole Creole may refer to: Anthropology * Alaskan Creole people, people descended from the inhabitants of colonial Alaska before it became a part of the United States during the period of Russian rule * Creole peoples, ethnic groups which originate ...
life, or the créolo-francophonie, which did not stop him from questioning the concept of négritude. Rebellious of the concept since his youth, which he associated with ethnic essentialism, he measured the historical range and situated the movement in the world history of ideas. He revisited this topic (critical re-situation of the movement) in his two collections, ''Ainsi parle le fleuve noir'' (1998) and ''Le Métier à métisser'' (1998). He paid homage to Césaire and his visionary work within the context of the créole movement in Martinique: "Césaire with only one word ended this empty debate: at the start of historical decolonization, In Haiti and around the world, there is the genius of Toussaint Louverture" (''Le Métier à métisser'' 25). His experience in Cuba – his fascination and his falling out with the "castrofidelism" ideology and its constraints – is also examined in these two texts, as well as marvelous realism, the role of the erotic, Haitian history and the very contemporary topic of globalization. Far from seeing himself as an exile, Depestre prefers being described as a nomad with multiple roots, a “
banyan A banyan, also spelled banian ( ), is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adjacent prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as ...
” man – in reference to the tree which he so often evokes right down to its rhizomic roots – even described as a "géo-libertin". As of 1986, Depestre lives in a small village in the Aude,
Lézignan-Corbières Lézignan-Corbières (; ) is a commune in the Aude department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Situated in the Corbières wine region not far from Narbonne, it has a Vine and Wine Museum (''Musée de la Vigne et du Vin''). Geog ...
, with his second wife, Nelly Campano, who is Cuban. His work has been published in the United States, the former Soviet Union, France, Germany, Italy, Cuba, Peru, Brazil, Vietnam, the former German Democratic Republic (East-Germany), Argentina, Denmark and Mexico. His first volume of poetry, ''Sparks'' (Etincelles) was published in Port-au-Prince in 1945. Other publications include ''Gerbe de sang'' (Port-au-Prince, 1946), ''Végétation de clartés'', preface by Aimé Césaire, (Paris, 1951), ''Traduit du grand large, poème de ma patrie enchainée'', (Paris, 1952), ''Minerai noir'', (Paris, 1957), ''Journal d'un animal marin'' (Paris, 1964), ''Un arc-en-ciel pour l'occident chrétien poeme mystère vaudou'', (Paris, 1966). His poetry has appeared in many French, Spanish and German anthologies and collections. More current works include ''Anthologie personnelle'' (1993) and ''Actes sud'', for which he received the Prix Apollinaire. He has spent many years in France, and was awarded the French literary prize, the
prix Renaudot The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or () is a French literary award. History The prize was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt. While not officially related to the Prix Goncour ...
, in 1988 for his work ''Hadriana dans Tous mes Rêves''. He is a special envoy of UNESCO for Haiti. He is the uncle of
Michaëlle Jean Michaëlle Jean (; born September 6, 1957) is a Canadian former journalist who served as the 27th governor general of Canada from 2005 to 2010. She is the first Haitian Canadian and black person to hold this office. Jean was the Organisation i ...
, the
Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
of Canada from 2005 to 2010.


Selected works

Poetry * ''Etincelles'', Port-au-Princ: Imprimerie de l'Etat, 1945 * ''Gerbes de Sang'', Port-au-Prince: Imprimerie de l'Etat, 1946 * ''Végétations de Clarté'', Paris: Seghers, 1951 * ''Traduit du Grand Large, poème de ma patrie enchainée'', Paris: Seghers, 1952 * ''Minerai noir'', Paris: Présence Africaine, 1956 * ''Un arc-en-ciel pour l'occident chrétien, poème mystère vaudou'', 1966 * ''Journal d'un animal marin'', Paris: Présence Africaine, 1967 * ''Cantate d'Octobre à la Vie et à la Mort du Commandant Ernesto Che Guevara'', Havana: Institudo del Libro, 1968 * ''Poète à Cuba'', Paris: Pierre Jean Oswald, 1976 * ''En etat de poésie'', Paris: Les Editeurs français réunis, 1980 * ''Lettre à un poète du marronnage'', Bois Pluriel, 1988 * ''Au Matin de la négritude'', Paris: Euroeditor, 1990 * ''Anthologie personelle'', Arles: Actes Sud, 1993 * "Ode à Malcolm X: Grande Brigitte", in ''Literature Moderne du Monde Francophone'', by Peter Thompson. Chicago: National Textbook Company (McGraw-Hill), 1997, * ''Un Eté indien de la parole'', Double Cloche, 2001 * ''Non-assistance à poète en danger'', Paris: Seghers, 2005 * ''Rage de vivre. Oeuvres poétiques complètes'', Paris: Seghers, 2007 Novels and short stories * ''El Paso Ensebado'' (in Spanish),Keith A. P. Sandiford, ''A Black Studies Primer: Heroes and Heroines of the African Diaspora'', Hansib Publications, 2008, p. 147. 1975 * ''Le Mât de cocagne'', Paris: Gallimard, 1979 * ''Alléluia pour une femme jardin'', Paris: Gallimard, 1981 * '' Hadriana dans Tous mes Rêves'', Paris: Gallimard, 1988 – Prix Renaudot * ''Eros dans un train chinois'', Paris: Gallimard, 1990 * "La mort coupée sur mesure", in ''Noir des îles'', Paris: Gallimard, 1995 * "Un rêve japonais", in ''Le Serpent à plumes. Récits et fictions courtes'', Paris: Le Serpent à plumes, 1993 * ''L'oeillet ensorcelé'', Paris: Gallimard, 2006 Essays * ''Pour la révolution pour la poésie'', Paris: Leméac, 1974 * ''Bonjour et Adieu à la Négritude'', Paris: Robert Laffont, 1980 * ''Le Métier à métisser'', Paris: Stock, 1998 * ''Ainsi parle le fleuve noir'', Paroles de l'Aube, 1998


References


Sources

* * * (In French) * http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/ile.en.ile/paroles/depestre.html (Original in French)


External links


"Rene Depestre"
Mohamed B. Taleb-Khyar, ''Callaloo'', Vol. 15, No. 2, ''Haitian Literature and Culture'', Part 1 (Spring, 1992), pp. 550–554
René Depestre on Haiti’s earthquake: Endless tragedy
8 February 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Depestre, Rene 1926 births 20th-century Haitian poets Book publishing company founders Communist poets Haitian communists Haitian expatriates in Cuba Haitian expatriates in France Haitian male poets Living people People from Jacmel Political prisoners in Cuba Prix Goncourt de la nouvelle recipients Prix Guillaume Apollinaire winners Prix Renaudot winners University of Paris alumni