Joël Des Rosiers
Joël Des Rosiers, a direct descendant of Nicolas Malet, the revolutionary colonist and signatory of the Act of Independance, was born in Cayes, Haiti in 1951. He moved to Canada during his adolescence when his family was granted exile. Des Rosiers later moved to Strasburg for his studies and joined the situationist movement in the early 1970s. Throughout these years, he provided clandestine accommodation for dozens of refugees and sans-papiers in Alsace.
A psychiatrist who has travelled widely, Des Rosiers has also published four collections of poetry and a collection of essays, including Métropolis Opéra, Tribu, finalist for the Governor General's Award, Savanes, winner of the Prix d'excellence de Laval, and Théories caraïbes, winner of the Prix de la Société des écrivains canadiens.