Literature

Haitian literature has long been interwoven with Haitian politics. Haitian intellectuals looked to African traditions, France, Latin America, the United Kingdom, and the United States, either sequentially or concurrently. At the same time, with its heroes, upheavals, cruelties, and rites, Haitian history has always been a rich source of inspiration for writing.

In the eighteenth century, settlers in France created descriptive and political works. Pétion Gérome founded the magazine La Ronde in 1895, ushering in the new century. The poets of this small and delicate style continued to draw inspiration from France. This style was continued in the early twentieth century by poets such as Dantès Bellegarde and Ida Faubert. Many Haitian academics fled during the Duvalier tyranny. The so-called diaspora writers participated in militant literature, approaching Haiti in terms of memory, anguish, and guilt at being separated from one's homeland.

The collective work Acte de l'Indépendance de la République d'Haiti was the first piece of Haitian literature (Haitian Declaration of Independence). Since then, Haitian literary culture has grown and thrived, with award-winning authors and large-scale literary events held both locally and globally.