| Dany Laferrière | |
|---|---|
Dany Laferrière in March 2010 |
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| Born | April 13, 1953 Port-au-Prince, Haïti |
| Occupation | Writer |
Dany Laferrière (born Windsor Kléber Laferrière, in 13 April 1953) is a francophone Haitian and Canadian novelist and journalist.
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Born in Port-au-Prince, Haïti, and raised in Petit Goâve, Laferrière worked as a journalist in Haïti 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, Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer (How To Make Love To A Negro Without Getting Tired) 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.
He writes his novels exclusively in French, although some have been published in English with translations by David Homel.
The 2005 film Heading South (Vers Le Sud) was adapted from three of his short stories.
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 Haïti, 33 years after he left it, upon learning of his father's death in New York. The narrative is somewhere between prose and poetry, nearing Japanese Haiku structures in some sections.
Laferrière lives in Montreal, Quebec.