Dialecte des Cyclones (Fragment)
Chaque jour, j’emploie le dialecte des
cyclones fous.
Je dis la folie des vents contraires.
Chaque soir, j’utilise le patois des
pluies furieuses.
Je dis la furie des eaux en débordement.
Chaque nuit, je parle aux îles Caraïbes
le langage des tempêtes hystériques. Je dis
l’hystérie de la mer en rut.
Dialecte des cyclones. Patois des
pluies. Langage des tempêtes. Déroulement
de la vie en spirale.
Fondamentalement la vie est tension.
Vers quelque chose. Vers quelqu’un. Vers soimême.
Vers le point de maturité où se
dénouent l’ancien et le nouveau, la mort et la
naissance. Et tout être se réalise en partie
dans la recherche de son double, recherche
qui se confond à la limite avec l’intensité d’un
besoin, d’un désir, et d’une quête infinie.
Glossary
|
WORD
|
DEFINITION
|
POSSIBLE SYNONYMS
|
|---|---|---|
| à la limite (phrase) | used to indicate a particular interpretation of a statement or situation | in a sense, you could say, to a certain extent, one might say, perhaps even |
| aux (prep. + art.) | directed toward multiple people or things already mentioned or assumed to be common knowledge | at the, to the, with the |
| avec (prep.) | accompanying or possessing another person or thing | with, along with, using |
| besoin (n.) | something that is wanted or required | need, requirement, necessity, urge, demand |
| Caraïbes (n.) | the region southeast of the Gulf of Mexico; of or relating to the Caribbean Sea, its islands, or the peoples and cultures of this region | Caribbean |
| chaque (adj.) | referring to one of two or more people or things, regarded separately | each, every, all |
| contraires (adj.) | opposite in nature, direction, or meaning | opposite, opposing, contrary, clashing, conflicting |
| cyclones (n.) | systems of winds rotating inward to an area of low atmospheric pressure | cyclones, tropical storms |
| dans (prep.) | situated within the confines of something | within, in, inside |
| de (prep.) | expressing ownership or the relationship between a part and a whole | of, from, about |
| débordement (n.) | an excess or outpouring of a large amount of water | flood, overflowing, excess, inundation, outpouring, surge |
| déroulement (n.) | the act of opening from a coiled state; the development of an action | rolling out, rollout, unrolling, unveiling, uncoiling, unfurling, proceedings, continuity |
| des (prep. + art.) | expressing ownership or the relationship between a part and a whole considered common knowledge | of the, from the, about the |
| désir (n.) | a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen | desire, wish, yearning, longing, aspiration |
| dialecte (n.) | a particular form of language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group | dialect, language, jargon, vernacular, lingo, slang |
| dis (v.) | from the verb dire—to utter words to convey information, a feeling or intention, or an instruction | say, state, recite, utter, speak, articulate, voice, vocalize |
| double (n.) | a person who looks exactly like another | double, twin, clone, look-alike, duplicate, splitting image |
| d’un(e) (prep. + art.) | expressing ownership or the relationship between a part and a whole mentioned for the first time | of a(n), from a(n) |
| eaux (n.) | stretches of colorless, transparent, odorless liquid that is the basis of the fluids of living organisms | waters, seas, oceans, streams |
| en (prep.) | indicates a state of being or the material that makes something up | in, of |
| en partie (adv.) | to some extent; not completely | in part, partly, somewhat, a little, not entirely |
| en rut (adj.) | the state of mating and producing offspring, especially of animals | rutting, breeding, in heat |
| est (v.) | from the verb être—to exist | is |
| et (conj.) | in addition to | and, as well as, plus |
| être (n.) | a single human being | being, human, person, individual |
| folie (n.) | lack of good sense | folly, madness, lunacy, chaos |
| fondamentalement (adv.) | used to make a bold statement about the basic truth of something | fundamentally, completely, inherently, at heart, essentially |
| fous (adj.) | characterized or caused by madness | insane, mad, crazy, deranged, wild |
| furie (n.) | wild or violent anger | fury, rage, wrath, outrage, anger |
| furieuses (adj.) | extremely angry | furious, enraged, raging mad, fierce, relentless, livid |
| hystériques (adj.) | deriving from or affected by uncontrolled extreme emotion | hysterical, frenzied, frantic, wild, feverish, raving |
| îles (n.) | pieces of land surrounded by water | islands, isles |
| infinie (adj.) | limitless or endless in space, extent, or size | infinite, indefinite, countless, boundless, endless, never-ending |
| je (pron.) | referring to the speaker | I |
| j’emploie (v.) | from the verb employer—to make use of | I use, I employ, I make use of |
| jour (n.) | a period of twenty-four hours, from one midnight to the next | day, daytime |
| j’utilise (v.) | from the verb utiliser—to take, hold, or deploy something as a means of accomplishing a purpose | I use, I utilize, I employ, I make use of |
| la (art.) | a person or thing already mentioned or assumed to be common knowledge | the |
| l’ancien (art. + n.) | that which has lived or existed for a long time | the ancient, the old, the elderly, the bygone |
| langage (n.) | method of human communication, either spoken or written | language, tongue, vocabulary, words |
| le (art.) | a person or thing already mentioned or assumed to be common knowledge | the |
| l’hystérie (art. + n.) | exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement, especially among a group of people | the hysteria, the frenzy, the mania, the delirium |
| l’intensité (n.) | the quality of being extreme in force, degree, or strength | intensity, strength, power, gusto, passion |
| maturité (n.) | the state, fact, or period of being fully developed physically or emotionally | maturity, adulthood, coming-of-age, wisdom, ripeness |
| mer (n.) | the expanse of salt water that covers most of the earth’s surface | sea, ocean, deep blue, surf, swell |
| mort (n.) | the end of the life of a person or organism | death, demise, end, departure, passing |
| naissance (n.) | the beginning or coming into existence of something | birth, emergence, genesis, delivery, childbirth, creation |
| nouveau (n.) | that which is made, introduced, or discovered recently or now for the first time | new, latest, modern, current, youthful, contemporary |
| nuit (n.) | the period of darkness from sunset to sunrise | night, nightfall, hours of darkness, nighttime |
| où (adv.) | the place or situation in which | where, at which |
| parle (v.) | from the verb parler—to say something in order to convey information, an opinion, or a feeling | speak, talk, utter, voice, pronounce |
| patois (n.) | the dialect of the common people of a region, differing from the standard language of the rest of the country | dialect, regional language, vernacular, jargon, cant, lingo, slang |
| pluies (n.) | collections of moisture condensed from the atmosphere and falling in drops | showers, rainfalls, rainstorms, deluges, torrents, downpours |
| point (n.) | a particular spot, place, or moment in time or space | point, moment, stage, juncture, phase |
| quelque chose (n.) | a thing that is unknown or unspecified | something, whatever, an object |
| quelqu’un (pron.) | an unknown or unspecified person | someone, somebody |
| quête (n.) | a long or arduous search for something | quest, search, hunt, crusade, exploration |
| qui (pron.) | referring to something or someone previously mentioned when giving further information | that, which, who |
| recherche (n.) | the act of trying to find something or someone | search, journey, pursuit, quest, chase, investigation, hunt |
| se confond (v.) | from the verb se confondre—to become entangled in or perplexed by | combines, merges, gets mixed up, gets confused, becomes unclear |
| se dénouent (v.) | from the verb se dénouer—to come undone | unknot, come apart, untangle, separate, unsnarl |
| se réalise (v.) | from the verb se réaliser—to become true or part of reality | is realized, is fulfilled, is created, becomes real |
| soi-même (pron.) | a person’s own self | oneself, yourself |
| soir (n.) | the period of time at the end of the day, from about 6:00 p.m. to bedtime | evening, late afternoon, end of day, sunset, sundown, eve, dusk, twilight |
| son (adj.) | belonging to or associated with a person or thing previously mentioned | one’s, its, his, her |
| spirale (n.) | a pattern of winding in a continuous and gradually tightening curve around a central point or axis | spiral, coil, helix, corkscrew |
| tempêtes (n.) | violent, windy storms | storms, tempests, thunderstorms, hurricanes, typhoons |
| tension (n.) | physical, mental, or emotional state of being stretched tight | tension, strain, stress, anxiety, pressure, agitation |
| tout (adj.) | used to refer to all the individual members of a set | every, each, all |
| vents (n.) | the perceptible natural movement of the air | winds, torrents, breezes, gusts, air currents, gales |
| vers (prep.) | in the direction of | toward, at, to |
| vie (n.) | the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter | life, existence, being, living |
Background
I. Free Verse
Free verse is a literary device that can be defined as poetry that is free from limitations of regular meter or rhythm and does not rhyme with fixed forms. Such poems are without rhythms and rhyme schemes; do not follow regular rhyme scheme rules and still provide artistic expression. In this way, the poet can give his own shape to a poem how he/she desires. However, it still allows poets to use alliteration, rhyme, cadences or rhythms to get the effects that they consider are suitable for the piece.
Bio
Frankétienne (born Franck Étienne) is a Haitian writer, poet, playwright, painter, musician, activist and intellectual born in Ravine-Sèche, a small village in Haiti. He was abandoned by his father, a rich American industrialist, at a young age and was raised by his mother in the Bel Air neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, where she worked as a street merchant to support her eight children, managing to send him, who was the eldest, to school. He is recognized as one of Haiti’s leading writers and playwrights of both French and Haitian Creole, and is “known as the father of Haitian letters”.
Frankétienne was one of the founders of ‘spiralism’, a literary movement that proved widely influential. He began to publish his poetry in 1964, and has since published dozens of collections, as well as novels and plays. He is also an accomplished musician and painter, and has exhibited his work internationally. As a painter, he is known for his colorful abstract works, often emphasizing the colors blue and red. His plays won him a large following in Haiti, where videotapes of the performances were clandestinely distributed. Always an outspoken opponent of dictators, particularly during the Duvalier years, Frankétienne always refused to join other like-minded intellectuals who were then living in exile and chose to remain in Haiti.He was a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2009, made a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et Lettres (Order of the Arts and Letters), and was named UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2010.