As a prelude to the Mois de la Francophonie 2023, the association “À Tire-d’Aile” launched the first edition of the Francophone Free Poetry Writing Contest organized under the theme “La Francophonie, a Wealth”. On March 20, the three winners and the winner of the association’s favorite prize were presented among 105 talents. They come from the United States, Jamaica, Haiti and Niger.
Erickson Jean-François, winner of the “Young adult” category, was born in Port-au-Prince and is 23 years old. He was just waiting to participate in the Poetry Contest, to repeat his words, to participate in a poetry contest, especially without online voting, to openly embark on the adventure.
« I saw a Facebook post from Atire-d’aile, I started. I was only writing for myself, now I’m writing for Haiti and the world ».
As for her ability to win this contest, Erickson says it was no surprise. He knew he was capable of it and promises us that his pen has endless verses in store for the future.
In writing his poem in free verse, Erickson says he was inspired by a friend, Christ André N. SAINT GERMAIN. He wanted to show how the Francophonie is more than just speaking French, to show that it is neither a social class nor a skin color as our compatriots tend to think. He wanted to show that the Francophonie is rich in every way. Rich in variety in its language, cultures, skin colors, etc.
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Francophonie, a wealth
She intrigues, her silhouette
By the rigidity of its form
Naturally, to a man, does she think
But, slenderness and voluptuousness
Is it from a woman
From afar, we admire it, contemplate it
We touch it with the end of the senses
Feel that we lose when
Up close, in view of his wealth
We turn pale, dumbfounded
It will be nice to learn to identify its contours
Keeping from her the immobility of marble
Will she always find a way
To dazzle, surprise or shock
Sometimes prudish, sometimes bohemian
As cheeky as placid
She makes sweet and sour mix
A pleasure for the taste buds
Harmony for the ears
Its melody and its colors
Invite to a journey which, by its essence,
Leads to ours, of soul
She is muse, she is poetry
She amuses, she amazes.
For young people, his bygone ways gone,
While for old, his vulgar contortions
Yet she is all of these things at the same time
Borderline puns, crazy expressions
Critical concepts, elastic language
All the emotion that can be conveyed
Like a sweet kiss on a summer evening
Through clothing, language, and customs
Who gives the future feelings of a king
Francophonie, a wealth
(Excerpts from the poem by Erickson JEAN FRANÇOIS)
Erickson Jean-François, “budding poet”
Considering himself a “budding poet”, Erickson reads a lot of poetry but not only. His favorite author: Paul Verlaine. His favorite poem: “My familiar dream” comes from his collection: Poèmes saturniens.
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His beginnings in writing are made since his youngest age, 14 and 15 years old. The love for writing was instilled in him by his first teacher but there is also the international compassion that immersed him in writing letters and correcting.
An undisputed fan of all forms of art, Erickson defines writing and the visual arts as his favorite fields! In his professional life, he is a graphic designer. A graduate in Computer Science at the University of Technology of Haiti, Erickson is also an optometry student at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of the State University of Haiti.