In a communique shared by the FEL Caraïbes Association widely on its networks on Saturday, May 1, 2024, the officials revealed the names of three (3) writers who will be honored in the 6th edition of the International Festival of Creole Literature (FEL 2024). On the donor carpet, we find: Serge Madhère (Haiti), poet, doctor in statistics and research methods, university professor in the United States; Michel Ducasse (Lil Moris), poet, literary translator, journalist, trained in the field of linguistics and literature, and Lyonel Desmarattes who is a writer, journalist, literary translator, member of the Haitian Creole Academy. According to the same communiqué, the FEL 2024 will take place from December 3 to 8, 2024 in Haiti (Porto Prince, Gonayiv) and online, as it has been done for some years.
Writer who has participated in the International Festival of Creole Literature since 2019
Every year, the International Festival of Creole Literature puts the spotlight on two or three personalities, where it honors them for their work and contribution to the dynamic promotion and development of Creole literature. It is the occasion where the festival ensures the promotion of the works of these personalities and invites the public to (re)discover their work. Here are the Haitian and foreign literary personalities who have already worn the “Invite alonère” hat since the creation of the event:
2019: Manno Ejèn, poet (Haiti – Canada); Hilario Batista Félix (Cuba), poet, head of the Creole Department at the State Radio of La Havana Cuba; Yves Marie Seraline (Martinique), writer, cultural engineer;
2020 : Raphaël Confiant (Martinique), writer; Jean Euphèle Milcé (Haiti), writer; Rodophe Mathurin (Haiti), writer, teacher;
2021: Pierre Michel Chéry (Haiti), writer, member of the Haitian Creole Academy; Lyonel Trouillot (Haiti), writer, responsible for the Thursday Night Workshop.
2022 : Jo – Anne S. Ferreira (Trinidad & Tobago), linguist, lecturer at Uwi University; Guy Gérald Ménard (Haiti), poet, novelist, professor at the State University of Haiti, member of the Haitian Creole Academy.
2023: Jean Dédé Dorcély (Haiti), writer, artist, founder of the Societe Koukouy Santo branch; Gregory Rabess (Dominican), singer, composer, writer; Old Hero (Haiti), poet, head of Medicaplant, university professor in Florida.
The International Creole Literature Festival is the first Creole literature event in the Caribbean. It was initiated by the Haitian poet Anivince Jean Baptiste and has been presiding over it since its creation in 2019, in partnership with Fondation Maurice Sixto, Organization Martiniquaise pour le Développement des Arts et de la Culture (OMDAC), Sosyete Koukouy, Espas Kreyol, Cultural Heritage Creole, Academy
Haitian Creole… Create a space for exchange and discussion on Creole literature, gather writers, poets, intellectuals, artists of the Creole-speaking community for a beautiful Creole environment, create a space for the promotion and dissemination of Creole books, work globally for a solid and solid Creolephony are some of the FEL’s goals are overtaking them.
Frantzley Valbrun
