Félix Morisseau-Leroy

Félix Morisseau-Leroy (1912—1998) was a prolific Haitian writer, educator, activist, and champion of the Haitian Creole language.  Morisseau-Leroy is deeply admired and celebrated in the Haitian diaspora, Haiti, and elsewhere for the significant and courageous role he played in the promotion and recognition of Haitian Creole as a language of instruction and of literature.  He was among the first important Haitian writers to write serious literary texts in Haitian Creole, which reflected and celebrated Haitian Creole cultural identity and concerns.  Often referred to as the father of Haitian Creole literature, his literary influence can be seen in the existence of Creole-language texts written by contemporaries and a younger generation of Haitian writers.