and wife and poet Virginie Sampeur, details of which, along with the epigraphs throughout the
collection, suggest the ways in which Durand’s inspiration is indebted to both French and
Haitian literary traditions.
As a whole, I read this poetry in light of Jean Paulhan’s ideas on figures of rhetoric inpoetry. I couple this with Haitian theories of racial equality which included numerous comments
about literature as well. The stylistic and thematic variety of this collection can be summarized
by two of Durand’s longest poems. They allow for transition into the dominant themes of other
poems and through direct questions posed by the interlocutors they provoke debate about the
nature and purpose of poetry in Haiti during this time. The poet’s conception of his role as
divine emissary and national representative are Romantic notions which remain relatively
constant in Durand’s corpus over the years. Nonetheless, I strive to organize the chapter
according to themes, beginning with nature, which means also considering the more Parnassian
moments in which Durand describes women and flowers in the Haitian countryside. I then
examine the many poems about love, paying particular attention to the portraits of women and
their representation of a feminized Haitian hinterland.
“Choucoune” is not only an example of how relations of imperial power are still presentin the realm of Romantic relationships in Haiti of the late nineteenth century, but it is also a
prime example of Durand’s understated subjectivity. As evident in other poems, this very real
but also ironic posturing of humility further elucidates Durand’s predicament as Haiti’s national
poet. Durand’s poetry can be seen as an interrogation into how to reconcile the influence of
French poetry and his own poetic accomplishments with a complexly defined Haitian identity.
The debate of what constitutes poetry in Haiti becomes problematic when trying to render this
poetry a national and racial specificity. In the last thematic section, I move on to how Durand