Comrade Jacques-Stephen Alexis with Comrade Mao
Jacques-Stephen Alexis was born on April 22, 1922, in Gonaives. His
father, Stephen Alexis, was a renowned journalist who penned Nègre masqué
(Masked Negro) in 1933. Since his father was stationed as a diplomat in
Europe, the young Alexis studied at Collège Stanislas in Paris
.
Once the family returned to Haiti, Alexis resumed his studies and
graduated from one of Haiti’s top schools, Collège Saint-Louis de
Gonzague. Though he began to study medicine, Alexis turned his attention
to writing and political organizing.
.
Once the family returned to Haiti, Alexis resumed his studies and
graduated from one of Haiti’s top schools, Collège Saint-Louis de
Gonzague. Though he began to study medicine, Alexis turned his attention
to writing and political organizing.
By the 1940′s, he met and worked with other engaged Communist writers and thinkers, such as Jacques Roumain and Nicolás Guillén (one of Cuba’s most celebrated poets); and in 1946, he founded an opposition literary group and journal, La Ruche.
For his part, as a leader in Haiti’s Communist Party who organized
against the election of President Dumarsais Estimé, Alexis was
imprisoned.
with other engaged Communist writers and thinkers, such as Jacques Roumain and Nicolás Guillén (one of Cuba’s most celebrated poets); and in 1946, he founded an opposition literary group and journal, La Ruche.
For his part, as a leader in Haiti’s Communist Party who organized
against the election of President Dumarsais Estimé, Alexis was
imprisoned.
He fled to Europe, where he lived in exile for several years, while he completed his advanced studies in medicine (with a concentration in neurology) and wrote his first influential novel, Compère Général Soleil (General Sun, My Brother).
in exile for several years, while he completed his advanced studies in medicine (with a concentration in neurology) and wrote his first influential novel, Compère Général Soleil (General Sun, My Brother).
The novel, which won instant acclaim, told the story of a Haitian man
who navigates life in Port-au-Prince, from a troubled childhood as a restavèk to a hopeful adulthood shaped by his reckoning in prison.
One of the main contributions of Compère Général Soleil was
its elaborate and eloquent descriptions of Haitian life in the 1930′s,
under the American Occupation and the brutal massacre of thousands of
Haitians in the Dominican Republic.
contributions of Compère Général Soleil was
its elaborate and eloquent descriptions of Haitian life in the 1930′s,
under the American Occupation and the brutal massacre of thousands of
Haitians in the Dominican Republic.
Alexis, like many of his contemporaries, was active on the global stage.
His attended the 1956 First Congress of Black Writers and Artists in
Paris and became a member of the Union of Soviet Writers in 1959. During
this time, he completed several works, including the 1957 Les Arbres musiciens, L’Espace d’un cillement in 1959 and Romancero aux étoiles
in 1960. As Francois Duvalier consolidated power during Alexis’ most
productive years, he would become a target for his speaking out against
the repressive regime, both at home and abroad.
In 1961, Alexis traveled to China. He was invited to meet with China’s
renowned Communist leader, Mao Zedong, in an effort to strengthen the
global ties of the Communist Party, which gained a steadfast wing in
Cuba. Once he returned from China, Alexis’ plans to travel home via Cuba
proved unsuccessful.
unsuccessful.
Upon his secret return to Haiti from Cuba, Alexis, along with his travel companions, were captured, tortured and killed.
Though his death was never officially recognized by the government,
Alexis remains one of Haiti’s towering figures, as his work and struggle
for equality influenced his peers and future generations of writers and
activists.
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