between the diverse communities of the region, to demonstrate the continuity, across time and
space.”^137
2.4 POEMS ABOUT THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION
This quote about the writer’s role to restore forgotten memory equally applies to poemsabout Haiti’s founding event. The articles we referred to at the beginning of this chapter,
especially those dealing with the connection between Hegel and Haiti, not only signal the on-
going significance of this event in a variety of fields and prompt a reconsideration of the earliest
Haitians texts. Writing in even closer proximity to this event, what can Ardouin’s and Nau’s
poems, ones which predate even Haitian historical texts tell us about how Haitians conceived of
their own revolution? As mentioned earlier, Haitian intellectuals beginning in the 1830s began
to call for the documenting of evidence of both a literature and a history believed essential in
constructing national identity. An exceptional history, furthermore, which centers on the Haitian
Revolution, will be one of the marks of national distinction:
Il y a dans l’histoire de chaque peuple une page où il aime à se contempler, parce
que c’est là que prennent date de vieux souvenirs de nationalité ....Notre pays
n’échappe point à cette observation générale. Lui aussi, il a dans sa vie un
épisode magnifique [...] le baptême politique...le moment qu’il prend rang dans
la famille des nations.^138More than any other time in Haiti’s history, it is not surprising that works about theHaitian Revolution would appear around this crucial time of negotiating recognition of Haitian
(^137) Glissant xl.
(^138) “De la nationalité et de la communauté des peuples.”