Dany Laferrière facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dany Laferrière
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Dany Laferrière in 2014
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| Born | Windsor Kléber Laferrière 13 April 1953 Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Occupation | Novelist, journalist |
| Language | French |
| Citizenship | Haitian, Canadian |
| Children | Melissa Laferriere-Tucker |
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Dany Laferrière (born Windsor Kléber Laferrière on April 13, 1953) is a famous writer and journalist from Haiti and Canada. He writes all his books in French. In 2013, he was chosen to be a member of the Académie française, which is a very important group in France that protects the French language. He officially joined in 2015.
Contents
Life and Early Career
Dany Laferrière was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He grew up in a town called Petit-Goâve. Before moving to Canada in 1976, he worked as a journalist in Haiti. In Canada, he continued his work as a journalist and even hosted TV shows for the TQS network.
First Novel and Film Adaptations
In 1985, Laferrière published his first novel. It was called How to ... to a Negro Without Getting Tired. This book later became a movie! Laferrière helped write the movie script himself. The film was nominated for a Genie Award in 1990, which is a big award for Canadian movies.
Dany Laferrière writes only in French. However, some of his books have been translated into English by David Homel. Many of his other books have also been turned into films. These include On the Verge of a Fever (2004) and Heading South (2005). He also wrote original movie scripts for Voodoo Taxi (1991) and How to Conquer America in One Night (2004). He even directed the last one!
Winning Awards and Recognition
In 2009, Laferrière won a very important award called the Prix Médicis. He won it for his 11th novel, L'énigme du retour. This award helped his books become known to many more readers in France.
L'énigme du retour is a special book. It tells the story of Laferrière returning to his home in Haiti. He went back 33 years after leaving, because his father had passed away in New York City. The book mixes regular writing with poetry, almost like haiku poems in some parts.
On December 12, 2013, Laferrière made history. He was elected to the Académie française. He was the first person from Haiti, the first Canadian, and the first person from Quebec to receive this great honor. He was also the second Black person ever to join, after Léopold Sédar Senghor in 1983.
In 2014, he received the International Literature Award for his novel The Return (L'enigme du retour). He was also named an officer of the National Order of Quebec in 2014. In 2015, he received another high honor, the Order of Canada.
In 2016, Dany Laferrière won the Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award. This award recognized all his amazing achievements in writing. Today, Laferrière lives in Miami, Florida.
Published Works
Dany Laferrière has written many books. Here are some of them:
- Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer, 1985
- English translation: How to ... to a Negro Without Getting Tired, 1987
- Éroshima, 1987
- English translation: Eroshima, 1991
- L'odeur du café, 1991
- English translation: An Aroma of Coffee, 1993
- Le goût des jeunes filles, 1992
- English translation: Dining with the Dictator, 1994
- Cette grenade dans la main du jeune nègre est-elle une arme ou un fruit?, 1993
- English translation: Why Must a Black Writer Write About ...?, 1994
- Chronique de la dérive douce, 1994 (a book of poetry)
- English translation: A Drifting Year, 1997
- Pays sans chapeau, 1996
- English translation: Down Among the Dead Men, 1997
- La chair du maître, 1997
- Le charme des après-midi sans fin, 1997
- Le cri des oiseaux fous, 2000
- J'écris comme je vis ; Entretien avec Bernard Magnier, 2000
- Je suis fatigué, 2000
- Je suis fou de Vava, 2005
- Pays sans chapeau, 2006
- Vers le Sud, 2006
- English translation: Heading South, 2008
- Je suis un écrivain japonais
- English translation: I Am a Japanese Writer, 2010
- La fête des morts, 2009
- L'énigme du retour, 2009
- English translation: The Enigma of the Return, 2011
- Tout bouge autour de moi, 2010
- English translation: "The World is Moving Around Me", 2013
- L'Art presque perdu de ne rien faire, 2011
- Journal d'un écrivain en pyjama, 2013
- Tout ce qu'on ne te dira pas, Mongo, 2015
See also
In Spanish: Dany Laferrière para niños
