Frankétienne

Frankétienne was born in 1936, in Ravine-Sèche, Haiti. Raised and educated there, he then went on to found a school for the other children in his hometown. Widely recognized as Haiti's most important literary figure, and a co-founder of the literary movement spiralisme, Frankétienne has written more than 30 plays, poetry collections, and works of prose fiction, including Dezafi, the first modern novel written entirely in Haitian Creole. He is also a renowned painter, with his art displayed in museums all over the world. Frankétienne was named a 2010 UNESCO Artist for Peace; won the 2005 Grand Prix d'Ouessant Island Book; won the 2006 Latin Union Prize for Literature and Romance; was a 2006 winner of the Netherlands Foundation Prince Claus; was made a Commander of the Arts and Letters in 2010; and was a candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2009. The New York Times has called Frankétienne "the Father of Haitian Letters."