Poet, writer, essayist, publisher, born in Cavaillon (Haiti), Rodney Saint-Éloi is the author of fifteen books of poetry, including Je Suis la Fille du Baobab Brûlé (2015, finalist for the Book Dealers Prize and the Governor General's Award) and Jacques Roche, je t'Écrite ce Lettre (2013, finalist for the Governor General's Award). An anthology of his poetry was published in France under the title We won't betray the poem and other collections (Éditions Points, 2021).
He also directed several anthologies and published in 2010 with Éditions Michel Lafon the book Haïti Kenbe la! , prefaced by Yasmina Khadra. He is the author of the essay Passion Haïti (Montreal, Septentrion, 2016, Paris, Grandvaux, 2019). In 2012, he received the prestigious Charles-Biddle Prize, and was then received in 2015 at the Académie des Lettres du Québec. In 2019, he became a Compagnon de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, and in 2021, he was appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la République française. He runs the publishing house Méemoire d'Encrier, which he founded in 2003 in Montreal. Published in 2021, the essay Racists have never seen the sea, co-written by Yara El-Ghadban (finalist for the Librarians Prize). Then the novel When it's sad, Bertha sings (Montreal, Quebec America, 2020/Paris, Éloïse D'Ormesson, 2022). He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Sherbrooke in 2023.
Distinctions and Achievements
• Writer, Essayist, Poet, Translator, Translator, Speaker, Anthologist, Editor
• CEO and founder of Éditions Méemoire d'Encrier
• Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of Quebec
• Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France
• Member of the Académie des Lettres du Québec
• Master's degree in Francophone literature: Laval University - Thesis: Emergence of Creole poetry in Haiti, Laval University, Quebec
• Bachelor's degree, linguistics, Faculty of Applied Linguistics, Port-au-Prince
• Bachelor's degree, economics, Faculty of Law and Economic Sciences, Port-au-Prince
• Founder of Mémoire editions, Haiti
• Founder of Mémoire d'Encrier editions, Quebec
• Founder of the art and literature magazine Cuttings
• Founder of the magazine Cultura