Prime Minister Fils-Aimé meets Académie française writer Dany Laferrière
The meeting caps a literary tour marking Laferrière's first return to Haiti since 2019, including a discussion with State University of Haiti students.
Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé received novelist Dany Laferrière, a member of the Académie française, on Thursday for a meeting devoted to culture and Haiti's international standing, according to Le Nouvelliste, citing a statement from the Primature. The head of government praised Laferrière's career as a symbol of Haitian creative genius and stressed the importance of universities and intellectuals in transmitting knowledge and in national reconstruction. He also expressed gratitude for the author's steadfast attachment to Haiti and his role in enhancing the country's prestige abroad, the statement said. The meeting followed a broader visit that marks Laferrière's first literary tour in Haiti since 2019. According to The Haitian Times, the author met earlier in the week with students and professors at the State University of Haiti in a discussion organized at the institution's invitation, where he reflected on literature, memory and creative writing. Laferrière urged students to write with honesty, trust their own voice and draw inspiration from everyday life, recalling how childhood memories in Petit-Goâve shaped his book "L'Odeur du café." He also met young readers at the National Book Directorate, where he discussed his recent work as a painter and illustrator. Rector Dieuseul Prédélus said the university "is also the guardian of the memory and imagination of the Haitian people."