Dany Laferrière
Windsor Klébert Laferrière (born 13 April 1953), known as Dany Laferrière (French pronunciation: [dani lafɛʁjɛʁ]) is a Haitian-Canadian writer, filmmaker and journalist. He was elected to seat 2 of the Académie française on 12 December 2013, and inducted in May 2015.
Also recorded as Windsor Kléber Laferrière · Dany Laferriere · Windsor Kleber Laferriere
Dany Laferrière

CamiRobi · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Full name
- Windsor Klébert Laferrière.
- Born
- 1953. · Port-au-Prince.
- Nationality
- Haiti and Canada.
- Occupation
- poet, novelist, filmmaker, journalist, writer, painter and television presenter.
- Fields
- literary activity, journalism and film.
- Education
- Collège Canado-Haïtien.
- Honours
- Commander of the Legion of Honour, Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde, Prix RFO du livre, Governor General's Award for French-language children's literature and Prix Médicis.
- Languages
- Haitian Creole and French.
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Documentary summary
Windsor Klébert Laferrière (born 13 April 1953), known as Dany Laferrière (French pronunciation: [dani lafɛʁjɛʁ]) is a Haitian-Canadian writer, filmmaker and journalist. He was elected to seat 2 of the Académie française on 12 December 2013, and inducted in May 2015.
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wikidata · Q1165217 · wikipedia · Dany Laferrière
In this article
Life
Life
Dany Laferrière studied at Collège Canado-Haïtien. The recorded working language is Haitian Creole and French. The field of work recorded is literary activity, journalism and film. Positions recorded include member of the Académie française. Distinctions recorded are Commander of the Legion of Honour, Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde and Prix RFO du livre.
Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and raised in Petit-Goâve, Laferrière worked as a journalist in Haiti before moving to Canada in 1976. He also worked as a journalist in Canada and hosted television programming for the TQS network. Laferrière published his first novel, How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired (Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer) in 1985. The novel was later adapted into a screenplay by Laferrière and Richard Sadler, earning a Genie Award nomination for best adapted screenplay at the 11th Genie Awards in 1990. The film adaptation of the novel starred Isaach De Bankolé and was directed by Jacques W. Benoit. Laferrière writes exclusively in French, although some of his works have been published in English translation by David Homel. Several further films have been adapted from his work, including On the Verge of a Fever (Le Goût des jeunes filles) in 2004 and Heading South (Vers le sud) in 2005. He also wrote the original screenplays for Voodoo Taxi in 1991 and How to Conquer America in One Night (Comment conquérir l'Amérique en une nuit) in 2004, and was the director of the latter. In 2009, Laferrière won the prestigious Prix Médicis for his 11th novel, L'énigme du retour. Upon receiving the prize, he commented on its ability to open up a new readership in France, giving him visibility there. In the past, Laferrière had always refused to be published in the fall, a season associated with the great literary prizes, but had been recommended to do so with L'énigme du retour by his editors. The novel follows Laferrière as he returns to his birthplace in Haiti, 33 years after he left it, upon learning of his father's death in New York City. The narrative blurs the line between prose and poetry, resembling haiku structures in some sections. On 12 December 2013, Laferrière was elected on the first round of balloting to Seat no. 2 of the Académie française, becoming the first Haitian, the first Canadian and the first Quebecer to receive that honour. He is the second black person to have been inducted, the first being Senegalese writer and statesman Léopold Sédar Senghor in 1983. On 3 June 2014, he was awarded the International Literature Award by the House of World Cultures for his novel The Return (L'enigme du retour). In 2014, he was appointed officer of the National Order of Quebec. In 2015, Laferrière was awarded the Order of Canada with the grade of officer. In 2016, Laferrière won the Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award for his literary achievements. At various times, Laferrière has resided in Montreal, Paris, and Miami.
Works
Works
Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer, 1985 (Éditions VLB) English translation How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired, 1987 (Coach House Press) Éroshima, 1987 (Éditions VLB) English translation Eroshima, 1991 (Coach House Press) L'odeur du café, 1991 (Éditions VLB) English translation An Aroma of Coffee, 1993 (Coach House Press) Le goût des jeunes filles, 1992 (Éditions VLB) English translation Dining with the Dictator, 1994 (Coach House Press) Cette grenade dans la main du jeune nègre est-elle une arme ou un fruit?, 1993 (Éditions VLB), Prix RFO du livre (2002) English translation Why Must a Black Writer Write About Sex?, 1994 (Coach House Press) Chronique de la dérive douce 1994 (Éditions VLB, poetry) English translation A Drifting Year, 1997 (Douglas & McIntyre) Pays sans chapeau, 1996 (Éditions Lanctôt) English translation Down Among the Dead Men, 1997 (Douglas & McIntyre) La chair du maître, 1997 (Éditions Lanctôt) Le charme des après-midi sans fin, 1997 (Éditions Lanctôt) Le cri des oiseaux fous, 2000 (Serpent à plumes) J'écris comme je vis; Entretien avec Bernard Magnier, 2000 (Éditions La passe du vent) Je suis fatigué, 2000 (Les librairies initiales) Je suis fou de Vava, 2005 (Éditions de la Bagnole) Pays sans chapeau, 2006 (Éditions du Boréal) Vers le Sud, 2006 (Grasset) English translation Heading South, 2008 (Douglas & McIntyre) Je suis un écrivain japonais English translation I Am a Japanese Writer, 2010 (Douglas & McIntyre) La fête des morts, 2009 (Éditions de la Bagnole) L'énigme du retour, 2009 (Québec: Boréal, France: Grasset) English translation The Enigma of the Return, 2011 (Douglas & McIntyre) Tout bouge autour de moi, 2010 (Mémoire d'encrier) English translation "The World is Moving Around Me", 2013 (Arsenal Pulp Press) L'Art presque perdu de ne rien faire, 2011 (Boréal) Journal d'un écrivain en pyjama, 2013 (Montréal: Mémoire d'encrier) Tout ce qu'on ne te dira pas, Mongo, 2015 (Montréal: Mémoire d'encrier) Further reading Beniamin Vasile, Dany Laferrière: l'autodidacte et le processus de création, Paris: l'Harmattan, collection "Critiques Littéraires", 2008

Dany Laferrière lors du Salon du livre de Paris durant un débat sur Haïti organisé par le magazine L'Express.
Georges Seguin (Okki)

Writer of the Académie française, in Villeray (Guizot / Saint-Denis), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
C. Robitaille
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1953
Dany Laferrière born.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Jaggi, Maya. Dany Laferrière: a life in books. The Guardian. 1 February 2013.
- 2.Donadio, Rachel. Dany Laferrière, a Guardian of French, Joins the Académie Française. The New York Times. 29 May 2015.
- 3.Brian Busby, "Dany Laferrière". The Canadian Encyclopedia, November 16, 2009.
- 4.Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on the election of Dany Laferrière to the Académie française. Stephen Harper Prime Minister of Canada. 12 December 2013.
- 5.Montreal author Dany Laferrière named an Immortal. CTV News. 12 December 2013.
- 6.Dany Laferrière: the one who plays with words. Deutsche Welle. 3 July 2014.
- 7.Government of Quebec. Dany Laferrière. Ordre national du Québec.
- 8.Governor General of Canada. Order of Canada Appointments. The Governor General of Canada His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston.
- 9.Charles, Jacqueline. Haitian author Laferrière celebrates French language in Miami appearances this weekend. Miami Herald. 28 March 2025.
- 10.Jaggi, Maya. Dany Laferrière: a life in books. The Guardian. 2013-02-01. 0261-3077.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1165217: Dany LaferrièreWikimedia Foundation
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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