recasts the Haitian Revolution as an event of hemispheric significance which must nonetheless
be revisited given Haiti’s current crises. In these poems, Durand’s larger anti-imperialist stance,
especially against Spain and Germany, allows for poems to be written not just on behalf of Haiti
but also in defense of Cuba and even France. As a conclusion to the entire chapter, I cite the
journalistic comments which summarize the vast diversity of Durand’s project and the varying
ways in which he was honored at the time of his death.
My third and final chapter explores the work and legacy of Massillon Coicou, a poetwhose political engagement resulted in his execution under Haitian President Nord Alexis in
- I open this chapter with observations surrounding Haiti’s bicentennial with the intent to
question how Haitian intellectuals may have viewed their own approaching centennial over one
hundred years ago. With more focused historical information on the 1880s and 1890s, I proceed
to introduce Coicou’s Poésies Nationales which contains poetry from 1888 to the year of the
collection’s publication in 1892. The lengthy preface to Poésies Nationales by fellow Haitian
poet Charles Williams defends the continuing attraction for and importance of poetry in late
nineteenth-century Haiti. Williams also includes many Greek and Roman references which will
continue to mark Coicou’s collection. The didactic nature of Coicou’s poetry and prophetic
visions of national collapse are just some of the examples which can be traced to Roman history
and literature. The section following my introduction examines the first poem, “Introduction,” a
poem similar in verse and in content to Durand’s “La voix de la patrie.” I read this poem partly
for its intertextual references to Durand’s piece and ultimately as an affirmation of Coicou’s
commitment to write exclusively national poetry with fervent patriotic sentiment. The ideas of
suffering, martyrdom, poetic futility, and national failure remain present throughout the
collection.