As part of the publication of his book Combats in March 2021, Haitian writer and poet Néhémy Pierre-Dahomey shares excerpts from this novel during an evening reading co-organized by the Maison de la Poésie and the Cité internationale des arts.
Discover it on Youtube or on this page just below the main picture!
In the year 1842, Haiti, the only black republic in the world, faces the first consequences of a curious debt imposed by France. Ludovic Possible, an old mulatto and large landowner, opens a strange academy on his land, not far from Port-au-Prince, where one learns to live, to weave straw mats, to straighten the school building, as well as to read, write and count. Ludovic's school is especially for Aïda, a girl shrouded in silence and mystery. Ludovic is hated by his half-brother, Balthazar. Faced with the agrarian system maintained by the army, their methods diverge and pave the way for merciless battles - battles for education and information, duels, pitched battles with roosters and dogs, verbal jousts and story swapping. In this inventive and abundant novel, a rural and political tale, particular destinies rub shoulders with the great history of social and egalitarian struggles of a country and its inhabitants.
Néhémy Pierre-Dahomey (Haiti) is recipient of the "Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation & Cité internationale des arts" residency program.