Jean d'Amérique
A standard-bearer of the new literary generation in Haiti, Jean d'Amérique has from the outset commanded an intense style to speak about his country and our world. He sensitively delivers furious poems and texts using a range of media, from the written word to the stage.
Published on 13/07/2021
2 min
Born on 4 December 1994 in Côtes-de-Fer, Haiti, Jean d'Amérique now lives between Paris, Brussels, and Haiti. He began his philosophy and ethnology studies in 2013 at the École Nationale Supérieure, as well as the Faculty of Ethnology in Haiti, but decided to abandon them to focus on his writing. His first collection of poems, Petite fleur du ghetto, was released in 2015, crowned with the special mention of the René Philoctète Prize. Two years later, his second work, Nul chemin dans la peau que saignante étreinte, garnered him the Prix de la Vocation awarded by the Fondation Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet.
A poet, writer, slam poet, and theatre writer, he has also hosted writing workshops and contributed to literary reviews. 2020 offered him the opportunity to publish his first play, Cathédrale des cochons, with éditions Théâtrales. He received the Jean-Jacques Lerrant Prize at the 31st Journées de Lyon des Auteurs de Théâtre. His first book, Soleil à coudre, is available from Actes Sud in 2021.
From his very first texts, Jean d'Amérique has stood out for his furious spoken word and poems as raw as they are organic. In all his diverse media including poetry, theatre, slam, and novels, he seeks above all to put words to the reality of a world that’s becoming increasingly dehumanised. Behind his prolificacy hides an urgency to evoke the roughness of his land and tell the story of his people. In every project, he embodies his need to live fast without losing precious time.
In this simmering ongoing creativity, Jean d'Amérique expresses his vision of society and his anger, often with capitalism and a scorned planet. He tells stories about corruption, childhood denied, as well as poverty and flawed justice. His style is that of a mind that likes to make words its own and transform them by creating powerful images for the reader and reinventing their imagination.
Since the start of his career, Jean d'Amérique has been recognised as a real inspiration for his literary generation in Haiti. He received numerous awards early on, notably the Prix de poésie de la Vocation in 2017, and various selections for his work. Also a slam poet, the writer gives his voice and body to his texts on stage by taking part in readings and writing residencies in France and in Belgium.
He created the Transe Poétique international festival with the Loque Urbaine collective in Port-au-Prince in 2019. As the artistic director, Jean d'Amérique wants to promote Haitian talent internationally by providing them with visibility and gatherings in the poetry world. It’s the first event of this magnitude dedicated to poetry in Haiti.
- 2015
2015
He publishes his first collection of poems, Petite fleur du ghetto. He is selected for the Prix Révélation Poésie de la Société des Gens de Lettres (Society of People of Letters of France) and receives a special mention from the Prix René Philoctète.
- 2017
2017
His second work, Nul chemin dans la peau que saignante étreinte, is released by éditions Cheyne. He is a finalist for the Prix Fetkann! de la poésie and wins the Prix de la Vocation.
- 2019
2019
He creates the Transe Poétique international festival with the Loque Urbaine collective in Port-au-Prince.
- 2021
2021
His first book, Soleil à coudre, is published by Actes Sud.
Jean d'Amérique benefited from the support of "Des mots à la scène" (“From Words to the Stage”) which is a support fund for the production of contemporary writing for the stage from Africa and the Caribbean launched by the Institut français and funded by the Ministry of Culture.