Philippe Thoby-Marcelin | |
---|---|
Philippe Thoby-Marcelin student (1920)
|
|
Born |
Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
December 11, 1904
Died | August 13, 1975 Syracuse, New York |
(aged 70)
Occupation | Poet, novelist, journalist, folklorist, politician |
Notable works | Canapé-Vert, La Bête de Musseau, Le Crayon de Dieu, Contes et Légendes d'Haïti |
Notable awards | Literary Prize of Latin America |
Philippe Thoby-Marcelin (1904 - 1975), was a Haitian poet, novelist, journalist, folklorist and politician.
Philippe Thoby-Marcelin was born December 11, 1904 in Port-au-Prince. He was the older brother of Pierre Marcelin, who was born in 1908, and the two brothers worked together in the writing of several novels about rural Haiti, highlighting the themes of peasant life and Haitian folklore. Philippe went to high school in Port-au-Prince and finished in Paris where he studied law. He began his career as general secretary at ministry of Public Works. Like most Haitian intellectuals, he was opposed to the occupation of his country by the U.S. military since 1915.
In 1927, he participated with Jacques Roumain, Carl Brouard, Émile Roumer and Normil Sylvain of the creation of La Revue Indigène, in which they published many poems. They began to honor the indigenized and Haitian literary and artistic material, and returned write about the displeasure with the U.S. occupation.
His first published novel Canapé-Vert, was awarded the Literary Prize of Latin America. In 1946, he participated in the founding of the People's Socialist Party (PSP) with Anthony Lespes, the same year he published La Bête de Musseau.
Philippe Thoby-Marcelin died August 13, 1975 in Syracuse near New York.