Dany Laferrière, who recently entered the French Academy, received the title of Honorary Citizen of the City of Montreal and received on this occasion a guestbook containing congratulatory messages written by Montrealers who attended public libraries since his appointment in January.

"All Montrealers are proud of the entrance to the French Academy of Dany Laferrière and his extraordinary career [...] By appointing him honorary citizen of Montreal, we wanted that Mr. Laferrière know that he is immortal in the heart of Montreal, too," declared Frantz Benjamin, President of the Council of the City of Montreal.

Recall that on the occasion of the World Book and Copyright Day,Dany Laferrière, winner of the Grand Prix of Book of Montreal in 2009 for his novel "L’énigme du retour", took part Wednesday in the distribution in the Saint-Michel neighborhood of book "Bonjour voisine", a collective effort in which he signs a text. This book is part of the Haiti collection which was launched in the library of Saint-Michel,

a unique collection of some 450 works Haitian, reflection of the Haitian culture.

From fiction to poetry through geography, history, spirituality or cooking, Haiti collection includes a wide variety of books in French and Creole written by Haitian authors or on Haiti. It includes 200 exclusive titles published in Haiti but not available outside the country. These titles were acquired last November at the Book Fair Montreal while Haiti was the guest of honor. Novels, documentaries and youth albums purchased over the years, complete the collection. The library of Saint-Michel intends to purchase other books that can enrich the collection, including novels coming directly from Haiti, thanks to the collaboration of the "Librairie Le Port de tête" and writer Rodney Saint-Eloi.

All citizens are invited to consult and borrow books from the collection Haiti to learn more about Haiti and discover the richness of Haitian literature.

HL/ TB/ HaitiLibre