Gérard Étienne facts for kids

Gérard Vergniaud Étienne (born May 28, 1936, in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti; died December 14, 2008, in Montreal, Quebec) was a talented writer. He was also a linguist and a journalist. He wrote many poems, novels, and essays.

A Life of Words and Change

Early Life in Haiti

Gérard Étienne started writing poems at just 13 years old. He even shared them on the radio! He left home at 15. He said his childhood was tough because of family challenges.

In Port-au-Prince, he joined protests against the government. He was arrested and faced difficulties. But after the leader was removed in 1956, Gérard found the strength to continue his studies. He believed that when people are denied their rights, they express themselves through art.

In 1958, he began working as a journalist and teacher. He was inspired by Jacques Stephen Alexis, a Haitian writer. Gérard was involved in efforts to change the government in 1959. This led to him being arrested again.

After his release, he quickly published four poetry books. He also wrote two essays about literature. He started a cultural group called "Samba." While teaching, he also worked as a literary critic. He reported for newspapers like Le Nouvelliste. He even spent time in the Haitian Air Corps.

By 1960, with his first poetry book Au milieu des larmes ("Amidst the tears"), he became a cultural leader. After being held in prison, he had to leave Haiti. He moved to Quebec, Canada, in August 1964, seeking safety.

New Beginnings in Canada

When he arrived in Montreal, Gérard taught at a school. He also worked as a reporter for local newspapers. While studying literature at the Université de Montréal, he worked in a factory. He also worked as a hospital orderly. He taught at a college and wrote for a newspaper.

In 1965, he published his first Canadian book, "Letters to Montreal." He kept writing poems and stories. His work has been translated into English, Portuguese, and German.

In his early years in Canada, he changed his religion to Orthodox Judaism. In 1967, he married Natania Feuerwerker. They met at the Université de Montréal. Natania's parents were a French lawyer and a rabbi. Gérard and Natania had two children, Joël and Michaëlla. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968. He later got a PhD in linguistics in 1974.

He was an editor for a journal at the Université de Montréal. In 1968, he started the Théâtre de Matane.

From 1971 until his retirement in 2001, he was a journalism professor. He taught at the Université de Moncton. He also wrote a column for the Montreal newspaper "Le Devoir." He wrote for other newspapers in New Brunswick too.

Standing Up for Justice

Even after facing serious health issues, he continued to write. In 1993, Gérard Étienne faced an attack. This attack was linked to his strong beliefs. It made him even more determined to fight against unfair systems in Haiti. He wrote about this event in his 1998 book. The book was called L'Injustice, la désinformation, le mépris de la loi.

He continued his fight for democracy in Haiti. He wrote columns for the Haïti-Observateur newspaper. In 2008, he published a play called Monsieur Le Président. This play was performed five times in Montreal.

Besides his writing and journalism, Gérard Étienne also had an academic career. He studied linguistics, which is the study of language. He even created a new field of study called anthroposemiotics. This field looks at how humans communicate. His essays on this topic were well-received.

Awards and Recognition

Gérard Étienne received several awards for his work. In 1991, he got a medal from the Guadeloupe writers union. In 1996, he received the Maurice-Cagnon Certificate of Honour. This was for his amazing contribution to French-language studies worldwide. In 1997, he received the Gold Medal from La Renaissance Française. He also won the Cator trophy for his lifetime of work. He was a member of the Quebec writers union. He worked on their language and sovereignty committee.

His Final Moments

Gérard Étienne passed away on December 14, 2008. His wife, Natania, shared his last moments. She said he died at home, "asking me to help him get dressed for writing." She added that he died "standing up totally straight, really."

Selected Works

Novels

• 1979: Un Ambassadeur macoute à Montréal ("A Macoute ambassador in Montreal"). Montreal: Nouvelle Optique. Montreal: Éditions du Marais, 2011. ISBN: 978-2923721194.
• 1987: La Reine Soleil Levée ("The Queen Sun Rises"). Montreal: Éditions Guérin-Littérature; Geneva: Metropolis, 1989. ISBN: 978-2760119741.
• 1991: La Pacotille ("The Trinket"). Montréal: l'Hexagone.
• 2000: Maître-Clo, ou la romance en do mineur ("Master Clo, or romance in C minor"). Montréal/Paris: Balzac. ISBN: 978-2913907119.
• 2001: Vous n'êtes pas seul ("You are not alone"). Montreal/Paris: Balzac; Montreal, Éditions du Marais, 2011. ISBN: 978-2921468701.
• 2002: Au cœur de l'anoréxie ("At the heart of anorexia"). Montreal: CIDIHCA.
• 2004: Au bord de la falaise ("At the edge of the cliff"). Montreal: CIDIHCA.

Theatre

• 2008: Monsieur le Président ("Mr. President"). Montreal: Éditions du Marais. ISBN: 978-2980985911

Poetry

• 1960: Au milieu des larmes ("Amidst the tears"). Port-au-Prince: Togiram Press.
• 1960: Plus large qu'un rêve ("Wider than a dream"). Port-au-Prince: Éditions Dorsainvil.
• 1961: La Raison et mon amour ("Reason and my love"). Port-au-Prince: Presses Port-au-princiennes.
• 1963: Gladys. Port-au-Prince: Éditions Panorama.
• 1966: Lettre à Montréal ("Letter to Montreal"). Montreal: L'Estérel.
• 1972: Dialogue avec mon ombre ("Dialogue with my shadow"). Montreal: Éditions francophones du Canada.
• 1982: Cri pour ne pas crever de honte ("A Scream Not to Die of Shame"). Montreal: Nouvelle Optique. ISBN: 978-2890170179.
• 1992: Les Yeux de Natania: poésie par Gérard Étienne ("The eyes of Natania"). Muse en île 3 (April 1992): pp. 1–2.
• 1993: La Charte des crépuscules: Œuvres poétiques 1960–1980 ("Twilight charter"). Moncton: Éditions d'Acadie. ISBN: 978-2760002333.
• 1994: Embargo in Sapriphage, "Présence d'Haïti" issue 22 (summer-fall 1994): pp. 47–49.
• 2008: Natania. Montreal: Éditions du Marais. ISBN: 978-2923721019.

Essays

• 1962: Essai sur la négritude ("On Blackness"). Port-au-Prince: Éditions Panorama.
• 1964: Le Nationalisme dans la littérature haïtienne (Nationalism in Haitian literature). Éditions Lycée Pétion-Ville.
• 1978: La vie et l'œuvre de Franck Fouché ("The life and work of Franck Fouché"). Présence Francophone 16 (spring 1978: pp. 191–99.
• 1985: Le vaudou centrons le ballon selon les règles du jeu ("Vodun — let's centre the ball according to the rules of the game"). Haïti-Progrès (13–19 February 1985): pp. 11–18.
• 1995: La Question raciale et raciste dans le roman québécois ("The racial and racist question in Quebec novels"). Montréal: Éditions Balzac. ISBN: 978-2921425520.
• 1998: La Femme noire dans le discours littéraire haïtien ("Black women in Haitian literary discourse"), written with François Soeler. Montréal/Paris: Éditions Balzac/Le Griot. ISBN: 978-2921468091.
• 1998: L'Injustice, la désinformation, le mépris de la loi ("Injustice, misinformation, disregard of the law"). Montreal: Humanitas. ISBN: 978-2893961651.
• 2006: Le peintre Hervé Lebreton et la poétique de la femme ("The artist Hervé Lebreton and the poetics of women"). Miami: ÉducaVision. ASIN: B00DYRTQY2.
• 2009: Le Créole, Une Langue ("Haitian Creole, a language"). Montreal: Éditions du Marais. ISBN: 978-2923721101