Poetry of Revolution: Romanticism and National Projects

I believe indeed that the small Haitian Republic, a shining buoy in the Antilles

archipelago, will provide sufficient evidence in support of the idea of the equality

of the races in all its ramifications. There mulattoes, griffes, all the different

hybrids of Black and White, and Blacks themselves exhibit all the intellectual and

moral aptitudes which arrogant and recklessly exclusionary Europeans have

always recognized only in Caucasians. Those Haitian examples will put an end to

a theory which has survived for so long only because no positive evidence has

ever offered to counter it.^215

Firmin then focuses on Haitian poets, many of whom Durand also quotes or dedicates

poems to in Rires et Pleurs. Firmin lauds the diverse qualities apparent in various Haitian texts,

such as fluidity and transparency, erudite style, and historical accuracy in portraying past events.

He also praises the personal and political accomplishments of the writers themselves. The

presence of such qualities, along with the mastery of the French language, positively render these

Haitians indistinguishable from French poets. When addressing whether or not Haitian poets

should draw inspiration from national realities, Firmin concludes that the answer would be the

same for poets everywhere: “Suffice it to say that if the freedom of all individuals is to be

respected, the freedom of the poet is sacred.”^216 Louis-Joseph Janvier, also discussing Haitian

poets in his 1883 book “La République d’Haïti et ses visiteurs,” specifically names Durand as

one of the poets who brings dignity to his people through the beautiful verse he composes.

According to Janvier, who became one of Durand’s great admirers and political protectors,

Durand expresses “les sensations les plus intimes et les plus délicates du cœur en extase devant

le beau, devant la nature, ou gonflé d’amour....”^217 Both Haitian essayists argue that the Haitian

poets vindicate the entire black race from accusations of inferiority. They stress that it is the

(^215) Anténor Firmin, The Equality of the Human Races, trans. Asselin Charles. (1885; Urbana: University of Illinois
Press, 2000) 295.
(^216) Firmin 301.
(^217) Louis-Joseph Janvier, La république d’Haïti et ses visiteurs (1840-1882); réponse à M. Victor Cochinat de la
Petite Presse et à quelques autres écrivains (1883; Port-au-Prince: Editions Fardin, 1979) 27.