D’une édition à l’autre
Le premier roman d’Anthony Phelps quarante ans après
abstract
Moins l’infini, the first novel written by the Haitian writer and poet Anthony Phelps, has recently been republished, with some quite remarkable changes between the two editions. With a different title, a new dedication and some lexical and morphosyntactic variations, this reissue may be interpreted as a rewriting of the novel which was first published in 1972. This rewriting made by the author may be conscious or not but it results in a more universal atmosphere, less linked to a strictly Haitian milieu. These variations are probably due to the historical and cultural gap between the two editions: forty years have passed and this love story which takes place under François Duvalier’s dictatorship has a different meaning now. The time has come to mourn the death of Duvalier’s opponents, the heroes never rewarded by justice that are mentioned in the new version of the title, Des fleurs pour les héros.
Keywords: Anthony Phelps, Haiti, Moins l’infini, Reissue, Du