Ecrivain haitian franketienne biography

Frankétienne (born Jean-Pierre Basilic Dantor Franck Étienne d'Argent; 12 April 1936 – 20 February 2025) was a Haitian writer, poet, playwright, painter, musician, activist and intellectual. He is recognized as one of Haiti's leading writers and playwrights of both French and Haitian Creole, and is "known as the father of Haitian letters". He was a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2009, made a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et Lettres (Order of the Arts and Letters), and was named UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2010.

Life and career

Jean-Pierre Basilic Dantor Franck Étienne d'Argent was born in Ravine-Sèche, a small village in Haiti. His mother was 16 when she gave birth to him, and his father, a wealthy American, was 63. His father then abandoned the family. Frankétienne later said that he was given his first names by his mother and grandmother to protect him from sorcery. He was raised by his mother in the Bel Air neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, where she was a respected entrepreneur, owning her own business to support her eight children, managing to send him, her eldest, to school. He grew up to work as a teacher in Bel Air. At the age of 5, he was enrolled in Petit Séminaire Collège Saint-Martial, where he learned French. Although he excelled in mathematics and physics, he failed the entrance exam for medicine, so he enrolled in an American mechanical school.

Writing

He attended the Institute of Higher International Studies in France, where he was taught by Pradel Pompilus and Ghislain Gouraige. There, he first began writing poetry around 1960. He published his first texts – Au fils du temps, La marche, Mon cote gauche, and Vigie et verre in 1964 and 1965. His first novel, Mûr a créver, was published in 1968. He was known as one of the main figures of the Haitian literary movement spiralism [fr], alongside Jean-Cl

Frankétienne was born Franck Étienne on April 12, 1936, in Ravine-Sèche, Haiti and died on February 20,2025. He is a Haitian writer, poet, playwright, painter, musician, activist, and intellectual. He was abandoned by his father, a wealthy American industrialist, at a young age and was raised by his mother in the Bel-Air neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, where she worked as a street merchant to support her eight children, managing to send him, who was the eldest, to school. 

Franketienne is recognized as one of Haiti's leading writers and playwrights of both French and Haitian Creole, and is "known as the father of Haitian letters." As a painter, he is known for his colorful abstract works, often emphasizing the colors blue and red. He was a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2009, made a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et Lettres (Order of the Arts and Letters), and was named UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2010. "Etienne's gestural style is apparent in his energetic and forced representations," says Gerald Alexis in his book Peintres Haitiens. Get the book Peintres Haitiens here!

Franketienne thus contributes to offering a positive image of Haiti, at a time when the credit of this painful island is totally in deficit due to the irresponsibility and obscurantism of recent governments. Frankétienne received numerous tributes in multiple foreign university centers.

Haitian artist and writer (1936–2025)

Frankétienne (born Jean-Pierre Basilic Dantor Franck Étienne d'Argent; 12 April 1936 – 20 February 2025) was a Haitian writer, poet, playwright, painter, musician, activist and intellectual. He is recognized as one of Haiti's leading writers and playwrights of both French and Haitian Creole, and is "known as the father of Haitian letters". He was a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2009, made a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et Lettres (Order of the Arts and Letters), and was named UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2010.

Life and career

Jean-Pierre Basilic Dantor Franck Étienne d'Argent was born in Ravine-Sèche, a small village in Haiti. His mother was 16 when she gave birth to him, and his father, a wealthy American, was 63. His father then abandoned the family. Frankétienne later said that he was given his first names by his mother and grandmother to protect him from sorcery. He was raised by his mother in the Bel Air neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, where she was a respected entrepreneur, owning her own business to support her eight children, managing to send him, her eldest, to school. He grew up to work as a teacher in Bel Air. At the age of 5, he was enrolled in Petit Séminaire Collège Saint-Martial, where he learned French. Although he excelled in mathematics and physics, he failed the entrance exam for medicine, so he enrolled in an American mechanical school.

Writing

He attended the Institute of Higher International Studies in France, where he was taught by Pradel Pompilus and Ghislain Gouraige. There, he first began writing poetry around 1960. He published his first texts – Au fils du temps, La marche, Mon cote gauche, and Vigie et verre in 1964 and 1965. His first novel, Mûr a créver, was published in 1968.^[11