WRITERS from Haiti

Top 5

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Haitian Writers of all time. This list of famous Haitian Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Frankétienne (b. 1936)

With an HPI of 50.31, Frankétienne is the most famous Haitian Writer.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.

Frankétienne (born Franck Étienne on April 12, 1936, in Ravine-Sèche, Haiti) is a Haitian writer, poet, playwright, painter, musician, activist and intellectual. He is recognized as one of Haiti's leading writers and playwrights of both French and Haitian Creole, and is "known as the father of Haitian letters". As a painter, he is known for his colorful abstract works, often emphasizing the colors blue and red. He was a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2009, made a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et Lettres (Order of the Arts and Letters), and was named UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2010.

2. René Depestre (b. 1926)

With an HPI of 49.80, René Depestre is the 2nd most famous Haitian Writer.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

René Depestre (born 29 August 1926, Jacmel, Haiti) is a Haitian-French poet and former communist activist. He is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in Haitian literature. He lived in Cuba as an exile from the Duvalier regime for many years and was a founder of the Casa de las Américas publishing house. He is best known for his poetry.

3. Jacques Roumain (1907 - 1944)

With an HPI of 49.32, Jacques Roumain is the 3rd most famous Haitian Writer.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Jacques Roumain (French pronunciation: [ʒak ʁumɛ̃]; June 4, 1907 – August 18, 1944) was a Haitian writer, politician, and advocate of Marxism. He is considered one of the most prominent figures in Haitian literature. Poet Langston Hughes, an African-American, translated some of Roumain's works, including Gouverneurs de la Rosée (Masters of the Dew). It was also adapted to film.

4. Dany Laferrière (b. 1953)

With an HPI of 47.51, Dany Laferrière is the 4th most famous Haitian Writer.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Dany Laferrière (French pronunciation: [dani lafɛʁjɛʁ]; born Windsor Kléber Laferrière, 13 April 1953) is a Haitian-Canadian novelist and journalist who writes in French. He was elected to seat 2 of the Académie française on 12 December 2013, and inducted in May 2015.

5. Edwidge Danticat (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 34.59, Edwidge Danticat is the 5th most famous Haitian Writer.  Her biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Edwidge Danticat (Haitian Creole pronunciation: [ɛdwidʒ dãtika]; born January 19, 1969) is a Haitian-American novelist and short story writer. Her first novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory, was published in 1994 and went on to become an Oprah's Book Club selection. Danticat has since written or edited several books and has been the recipient of many awards and honors. As of the fall of 2023, she will be the Wun Tsun Tam Mellon Professor of the Humanities in the department of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Columbia University.