Charles Moravia

Charles Moravia (17 June 1875 - 11 February 1938)^[1] was a Haitian poet, dramatist, teacher, and diplomat.

Biography

Born in Jacmel, Moravia studied at the Petit Séminaire Collège Saint-Martial in Port-au-Prince.^[1] He became a teacher in Jacmel and founded two periodicals, the short-lived La Plume, published from 1914 to 1915, and Le Temps, started in 1922 as a daily paper and later a magazine.^[1] He was an elected officer of the Haitian Academy of Arts and Sciences.^[1] An admirer of Heinrich Heine, Moravia translated the verse of the German poet, working from the prose translation of Gérard de Nerval.^[1] Moravia was also influenced by Edmond Rostand's play Cyrano de Bergerac.

He also had a career in public service and was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to Washington, D.C. in 1919, during the United States' occupation of Haiti. He also served as a Senator of the Republic during the presidency of Sténio Vincent.

Moravia was jailed by the Vincent government for his articles opposed to the American occupation.

Selected works

• Roses et Camélias (Port-au-Prince: Impr. Mme F. Smith, 1903) - poetry
• Ode à la mémoire de Toussaint Louverture (Port-au-Prince: Impr. Mme F. Smith, 1903) - poetry
• La Crête à Pierrot (1908) - drama
• Au Clair de la Lune (1910) - drama
• L'Amiral Killick (1943) - drama

Sonnet sur Deux Clous - poetry

References

1. Donald E. Herdeck (ed.), Caribbean Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical-Critical Encyclopaedia, Washington, DC: Three Continents Press, 1979, p.460.]

• Schutt-Ainé, Patricia (1994). Haiti: A Basic Reference Book. Miami, Florida: Librairie Au Service de la Culture. pp. 98–99. ISBN 0-9638599-0-0.