By focusing on elements of the Haitian landscape, Durand reveals a distinct source ofpoetic inspiration which Delorme and many of Durand’s contemporaries did not pursue.
These verses constitute a prelude of other poems to come. Poems about the flora andfauna of Haiti are to be found primarily in the second book of Rires et Pleurs. In anticipation of
further analysis, one can already note that the descriptions of Haitian landscape serve as a sign of
national commitment. Durand’s nature poetry expands the tradition of an indigenous literature
as envisioned by the writers of L’Union and more thoroughly explores nature as a poetic theme,
begun by Ignace Nau. In the time in which Durand was writing, this geographical specificity is
even more paramount as Haiti is constantly a contested territory. The words tortueux and amer
with their negative connotations suggest that writing about nature will not always be celebratory.
By the poem’s end, Durand no longer speaks merely for other grateful students ofDelorme, but this collective voice is now posited as a national representative. Delorme is
addressed as a compatriot living away from his homeland. The book of poetry takes on added
significance, serving as a nostalgic reminder of Haiti to a friend in exile:
Les flots vous poussent loin de la rive chérie,
Mais de nos cœurs, ami, rien ne peut vous bannir.
Je vous offre ce livre, écho de la patrie,
Dont l’exil rend encore plus cher le souvenir. (41-44)It is near the end of the “Dédicace” that Durand invokes the names of four Haitian writersfrom the early nineteenth century. Sixty years after independence, he cites what he already sees
as the makings of a Haitian literary tradition. Besides the two early Romantic poets from the
1830s, Ignace Nau and Coriolan Ardouin, Durand also names Jules Milscent, founder of Haiti’s
first literary and political journal L’Abeille haytienne, and finally Boisrond Tonnerre, the author
of Haiti’s 1804 L’Acte d’indépendance d’Haïti. Durand’s mention of these Haitian writers