Reading Kettly Mars
Plakat zur Lesung "Die zwielichtige Stunde. L'heure hybride" von Kettly Mars am 15. Oktober 2018.
Four hours in the life of François Eric L'Hermitte, known as Rico, a gigolo in Port-au-Prince. He spends an afternoon indulging in his thoughts and memories while recovering from a night of partying. Behind his superficial cynicism, the constraints of a society that "forgives a man everything (...) except his poverty" become visible time and again. In her novel, Kettly Mars draws the psychogram of the protagonist with great narrative sensitivity, while at the same time developing a precise analysis of Haitian society. It becomes clear that the social division and social contradictions of the poor Caribbean state are part of the colonial legacy. The narrative touches on global issues that go far beyond Haiti.
Kettly Mars is one of Haiti's best-known contemporary authors. Her works have been awarded numerous prizes, including the Dutch Prince Claus Prize, the Prix Senghor de la Création littéraire (for L'heure hybride / Die zwielichtige Stunde) and the Prix Ivoire pour la Littérature Africaine d'Expression Francophone 2015. Fado, Wilde Zeiten, Vor dem Verdursten and Ich bin am Leben have already been published in German.
Die zwielichtige Stunde, Litradukt Verlag Trier 2018, translated from the French by Ingeborg Schmutte.
The event was a cooperation between the Centrum Frankreich | Frankophonie of the TUD Dresden University of Technology, the Literaturhaus Villa Augustin Dresden, Litradukt Verlag Trier and the Institut Français Sachsen.
