Soirée de discussion autour de l’héritage poétique de Jacques Roumain | KEPKAA

As part of Black History Month, the KEPKAA organization offers you a magical journey to the heart of the poetry of Jacques Roumain, Haitian writer and politician (1907-1944).

In the form of a conference, this tribute to Roumain will be a prelude to the visual arts exhibition on February 5 at TOHU, and to the classical music concert Le deuil des roses qui s’effeuillent on February 6 at the Pierre-Mercure hall.

Jacques Roumain (1907-1944), a Haitian writer famous for his political commitment (co-founder of the Haitian Communist Party), his ethnological activities (founder of the National Bureau of Ethnology in Port-au-Prince), and a world-renowned writer (especially for his final novel Gouverneurs de la Rosée), nevertheless leaves behind a poetic work that is rarely visited. As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of his death, KEPKAA presents an evening of discussion around the poetic legacy of Jacques Roumain, its emblematic and aesthetic value as well as its scope in Haiti and the world of yesterday and today, but also the imprint of his thought on current Afro-descendant artists working in other disciplines.

SPEAKERS

Speaker Franz Antoine Leconte, doctor of French literature, professor at New York University, and author of Jacques Roumain and Haiti: the mission of the poet in the city (Éditions l’Harmattan) will present and analyze the poetic work of Jacques Roumain;
Kara Antoine, reciter, will read poems by Jacques Roumain;
Composer David Bontemps (whose song cycle on poems by Roumain Le Deuil des roses qui s’effeuillent will be premiered by the Orchestre classique de Montréal at Salle Pierre-Mercure on February 6, 2025);

Visual artists from the group exhibition Échos de l’âme: Hommage à Jacques Roumain (starting February 7, 2025 at La Tohu, in partnership with the Centre des arts de la Maison d’Haïti) directed by artist-curator Ralph Maingrette.

During the month of February, discover a program that honours the heritage of Black people in Canada and their communities. Come celebrate Black History Month with KEKKAA – Comité international pour la promotion du Créole et de l’Alphabétisation, and its guests.