In the list of finalists unveiled by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Haitian poet, Rodney Saint-Éloi is shortlisted for the Governor General's Award 2013 for his poetry collection "Jacques Roche, je t'écris cette lettre" (Jacques Roche, I write you this letter).

Released in February 2013, this collection was well received by critics, who see a work of great power. The book is a long letter in tribute to poet Jacques Roche, kidnapped July 10, 2005 in Port-au-Prince, whose body was found on 14 July 2005. It is this barbaric act that feeds the poem...

"Jacques Roche, I write you this letter, follows an itinerary of fighter. Poetry takes its course and facing death, as if death was inadmissible. The figure of disappeared becomes essential presence, tree among the trees so that the reader can imagine this rebel with powdered feet whose breath is spread over the city. Poetry known to knock on doors of justice and truth."

Learn more about Rodney Saint-Éloi :

Born in Cavaillon in southern Haiti, Rodney Saint-Éloi lives in Montreal since 2001. Poet, he is the author of ten collections, including among other : "J'avais une ville d’eau", "De terre et d'arc-en-ciel heureux" (1999), "J’ai un arbre dans ma pirogue" (2003), "Récitatif au pays des ombres" (2011). He also published the story "Haïti Kenbe la!" in 2010 at Michel Lafon and is the initiator of Quebec Encounters in Haiti.

Learn more about the Governor General's Literary Awards 2013 :

These awards are given to works in categories: fiction, essays, poetry, drama, children (text and illustration) and translation,

in French and in English. The winners will be announced at a press conference November 13, 2013 and will be presented at a ceremony Nov. 28 at Rideau Hall. Each winner will receive a total of $25,000. n addition, the publisher of each winning book will receive a grant of $3,000 for its promotion. Finally, the sum of $1,000 will be given to non-winning finalists in recognition of their selection as a finalist. The total value of the awards totaled nearly 450,000 dollars.

HL/ HaitLibre