“Melovivi” or “Le piège” [The Trap], a play written in November 2009 by the artist and writer Frankétienne, will be performed on March 24, 2010 by author/actor Garnel Innocent. This theatrical piece will be presented in the UNESCO auditorium in Paris. Coinciding with a colloquium on Haiti, Frankétienne will be present at the performance. UNESCO is located at 7 Place de Fontenoy, Paris (75352), France.

“Melovivi” has been considered a premonitory theatrical piece. It tells the story of two people who are trapped in aindividuals locked, prisoners in a space dilapidated space with no exit, a space devastated due to a disaster. In order to survive this accidental imprisonment, the two people speak, argue, and dwell on on woes caused by predators on the planet.

Frankétienne (Haiti, 1936) is an author, poet, playwright, musician and painter. He has has published more than 30 works in French and Créole, including plays, essays, and poetry collections. [Also see previous post Frankétienne Visits Batey Relief Alliance in Dominican Republic.] As a painter, he is known for his colorful, vibrant, abstract works. Often called a Renaissance Man, has painted several thousands of works and received the Netherlands’ Prince Claus Award in 2006. He was a candidate for Nobel of Literature 2009.

An article in Breitbart explains that the poet respects signs and symbols: “On January 10, just two days before the quake, a voice called out at him in the early morning, enjoining him without explanation to purchase a medallion of Saint Andrew. The darkened medallion, which Franketienne still wears around his neck like a talisman, was found by his driver in a city next to Port-au-Prince where Saint Andrew is the patron saint. The city was Leogane, the quake’s epicenter.”It adds that the earthquake that Frankétienne foresaw is a confirmation of the “esthetics of chaos” he has heralded for the past 40 years with the the Spiralist movement (founded with Philoctète and Jean-Claude Fignolé). However, the poet sees in the disaster a unique chance to rebuild everything: “It is the first time since 1804 that all of the country’s structures have collapsed. We are at a turning point. . . .  Either we wake up or it’s a total collapse.”

See full article (in French) http://www.alterpresse.org/spip.php?article9329 and (in English) http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.76630d4517583adcfee729fe374e1790.d21&show_article=1

Photo of Frankétienne from http://www.lenouvelliste.com/article.php?PubID=1&ArticleID=57387