Noose

Frankétienne (born Frank Étienne on April 12, 1936, in Ravine-Sèche, Haiti) was a writer, poet, playwright, painter, musician, activist, and intellectual. He was recognized as one of Haiti’s leading writers and playwrights of both French and Haitian Creole and has been called “the father of Haitian letters” by the New York Times. As a painter, he was known for his colorful abstract works, often emphasizing the colors blue and red. He was a candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2009 and was made a Commander of the Arts and Letters in 2010.Asselin Charles is a retired professor of language and literature. He is the literary translator of many works, including Anténor Firmin’s masterwork The Equality of the Human Races and Frankétienne’s great Kreyòl novel Dézafi.

“In Pelin-Tèt, a theatrical performance emblematic of Frankétienne’s Haitian Creole aesthetic program, two exiles experience a profound identity crisis, forcing a vital reassessment of their sense of self. In our contemporary context of global migration, this English translation brings such particularly crucial issues to the forefront of the world literary scene.”—Françoise Simasotchi-Bronès, author of Archipels Glissant

• Translator’s IntroductionThe Noose: A PlayAfterword by Jean JonassaintNotes