Rene Depestre – författare

The latest novel by one of Haiti’s most brilliant writersThe most recent book by renowned Haitian novelist, essayist, and poet RenÉ Depestre, Popa Singer is a semi-autobiographical chronicle of Haiti in the late 1950s, the very moment when the country first came under decades of despotic rule.To celebrate her son’s return home after years of exile, Diana Fontoriol (aka “Popa Singer”)—an indomitable mother armed only with her sewing machine and her personal convictions—determines to resist in her own way the infamous Ubu King of the Tropics: FranÇois “Papa Doc” Duvalier. Depestre’s novel tells the story of this at once intimate and epic struggle. Combining colorful fantasy and biting social satire, it is a deeply personal and singularly artistic take on an infamous chapter in Haitian history.

The latest novel by one of Haiti’s most brilliant writersThe most recent book by renowned Haitian novelist, essayist, and poet RenÉ Depestre, Popa Singer is a semi-autobiographical chronicle of Haiti in the late 1950s, the very moment when the country first came under decades of despotic rule.To celebrate her son’s return home after years of exile, Diana Fontoriol (aka “Popa Singer”)—an indomitable mother armed only with her sewing machine and her personal convictions—determines to resist in her own way the infamous Ubu King of the Tropics: FranÇois “Papa Doc” Duvalier. Depestre’s novel tells the story of this at once intimate and epic struggle. Combining colorful fantasy and biting social satire, it is a deeply personal and singularly artistic take on an infamous chapter in Haitian history.

The latest novel by one of Haiti’s most brilliant writers The most recent book by the renowned Haitian novelist, essayist, and poet René Depestre, Popa Singer is a semiautobiographical chronicle of Haiti in the late 1950s, the very moment when the country first came under decades of despotic rule. To celebrate her son’s return home after years of exile, Dianira Fontoriol (aka “Popa Singer”)—an indomitable mother armed only with her sewing machine and her personal convictions—determines to resist in her own way the infamous Ubu King of the Tropics: François “Papa Doc” Duvalier. Depestre’s novel tells the story of this at once intimate and epic struggle. Combining colorful fantasy and biting social satire, it is a deeply personal and singularly artistic take on an infamous chapter in Haitian history.

Legendary Haitian author Depestre combines magic, fantasy, eroticism, and delirious humor to explore universal questions of race and sexuality."One-of-a-kind . . . [A] ribald, free-wheeling magical-realist novel, first published in 1988 and newly, engagingly translated by Glover . . . An icon of Haitian literature serves up a hotblooded, rib-ticking, warmhearted mélange of ghost story, cultural inquiry, folk art, and véritable l''amour." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review"An exceptional novel . . . Depestre''s masterpiece and one of the greatest examples of Haitian literature." —New York Journal of BooksHadriana in All My Dreams, winner of the prestigious Prix Renaudot, takes place primarily during Carnival in 1938 in the Haitian village of Jacmel. A beautiful young French woman, Hadriana, is about to marry a Haitian boy from a prominent family. But on the morning of the wedding, Hadriana drinks a mysterious potion and collapses at the altar. Transformed into a zombie, her wedding becomes her funeral. She is buried by the town, revived by an evil sorcerer, then disappears into popular legend.Set against a backdrop of magic and eroticism, and recounted with delirious humor, the novel raises universal questions about race and sexuality. The reader comes away enchanted by the marvelous reality of Haiti''s Vodou culture and convinced of Depestre''s lusty claim that all beings—even the undead ones—have a right to happiness and true love.

Poète, romancier, René Depestre est l’une des figures les plus originales de l’avant-garde artistique et intellectuelle de l’après-guerre. Sa vie suit les chaos de l’histoire et en épouse un temps les espoirs : à Paris, il rencontre André Breton, Louis Aragon et les surréalistes, et débat avec le représentant du mouvement de la négritude, Aimé Césaire ; en Tchécoslovaquie, il se lie d’amitié avec Pablo Neruda ; à Cuba, il s’engage auprès de Che Guevara et soutient le régime de Castro. C’est toute l’effervescence de cette vie d’engagements, et de désillusions aussi, que restitue ce livre. Il revient sur les grandes questions de la décolonisation et de la négritude. René Depestre, qui se définit lui-même comme « Haïtien errant », entend dépasser les séparations raciales, qui sont autant de pièges où s’appauvrit la diversité des cultures et des corps. « Porter tendrement sa couleur de peau », cette paix ne s’obtient que si l’on sait conjuguer la force de l’art et l’ardeur de l’action. Texte établi par Jean-Luc Bonniol. René Depestre est poète, romancier et essayiste. Il a publié de nombreux recueils de poésies, dont Étincelles. Il a travaillé au secrétariat de l’Unesco jusqu’en 1986, et il a obtenu le prix Renaudot en 1988 pour son roman Hadriana dans tous mes rêves. Jean-Luc Bonniol est anthropologue et historien, professeur émérite à l’université d’Aix-Marseille, spécialiste des sociétés créoles.