Daniolande Joseph Julien and Jeanie Bogart Shine at the 50th Deschamps Prize

On the occasion of the 50th edition of the Henri Deschamps Literary Prize, Haitian literature confronts its paradox: its stars shine, but too often from afar. Between nostalgia for a vibrant past and the silence of Port-au-Prince’s alleyways, this text retraces the path of writers, their works, and the exile that threatens to pull them away from the country they nevertheless continue to embody through their words.

Elien Pierre
13 Nov 2025 — Lecture : 4 min.
Daniolande Joseph Julien and Jeanie Bogart Shine at the 50th Deschamps Prize

Daniolande J. Julien, lauréate du Prix Henri Deschamps 2025
Photo : Photo Foto

It was upon arriving at the El Rancho hotel this Wednesday, November 12, that I understood why Dominique had been calling me so insistently to know where I was. I was stuck in a traffic jam with Eyide Davidson Latortue, a photographer. When I arrived, the room was empty. Yet I had asked Joubert Joseph to cover the event. Fortunately, Elien Pierre was already on site. We had barely begun when I entered the room.

There was a time when the announcement of the Henri Deschamps Prize brought together writers, poets, playwrights, journali

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