Frantz-Antoine Leconte’s essay collection, Josaphat-Robert Large: La fragmentation de l’être, explores the diverse literary production of the prolific Haitian writer Josaphat-Robert Large. Through detailed analysis, Leconte invites readers to explore the richness of Large’s writing, the variety of genres, stylistic finesse, and the fundamental concepts that underlie his works. The collection surveys his works of poetry, a “luminous poetry that engages the entire being— heart, soul, and senses— and ties reflexes with reflection in engrossing texts like Nerfs du vent (1975) and Chute de mots (1989).” Attention is equally given to his novels, a “dazzling novelistic universe, an affirmation of Caribbean and Haitian literary success” in works such as Les Sentiers de l’enfer (1990), Les Récoltes de la folie (1996), Les Terres entourées de larmes (2002), and Partir sur un coursier de nuages (2008).

Haitian-American poet, novelist, and art critic, Josaphat-Robert Large was born in Haiti in 1942. He left Haiti in 1963, after being arrested during a student strike against the regime of Papa Doc Duvalier. He studied English at Columbia University and photography at New York institute of Photography. After receiving the Prix Littéraire des Caraïbes in 2003 for his novel Les terres entourées de larmes [Lands Surrounded by Tears], he was nominated for the Haitian Grand Literary Prize of 2004 (along with writers such as Edwige Danticat, Dany Laferriere, René Depestre, and others). He is a founding member of La Troupe de Théâtre Kouidor and frequently writes for Haitian newspapers.

Contributors to this edited collection include Frantz Large, Gérard Campfort, Pierre-Raymond Dumas, Frantz Minuty, Jonel juste, Anjanir Ghaminêl, Jean L. Prophète, Robenson Bernard, Jean-Claude Charles, ]ean-Robert Léonidas, Edith Wainwright, and Hugues Saint-Fort. Specializing in French literature, Leconte has taught for over 30 years and is presently coordinator of French Studies at Kingsborough Community College (CUNY).

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