PRODG Entertainment Promotions

PROFILES

Louis Elneus
Founder of HLD

Richard Jeanty
Author & Entrepreneur

Leslie Demangles
Author & College Professor

Danielle Legros-George
Haitian Poet & Autor

Margaret Papillon
Haitian Author

Myrtelle Cherry
Haitian Artist & Painter

Carole B. Joseph
Mass Bay Community College President

Gashford Guillaume
Mozayik Drummer

Pascale Auguste
Haitian Association Against Cancer

Andy Jacques
Haitian Fashion Designer

Phillip J. Brutus
State Representative

Yvecar Momperousse
Haitian Student Alliance

The Maroons
Haitian Writers & Poets

Evans Thesee
Founder HaitianConnection.com

Abdias Charles
Founder of Repair Haiti.org

Mecca AKA Grimo
Haitian Hip Hop Artist & Activist

Fania Simon
Writer, Lecturer & Activist

Nadege Fleurimond
Owner of Fleurimond Catering

Interview: The Maroons

		The Maroons are a group of Haitian poets/writers who hail from Port-Au-Prince, and New York. Some of them have been in the States since childhood or grade school, but have traveled and lived in Haiti in some capacity. The Maroons are all graduates with degrees in Law, Engineering and English Literature. The group is consists of Underscore, Eros, Makendal. The Maroons have been one of the catalysts in bringing Haitian literature, poetry and pride back to the community as well as raise awareness of various issues. Underscore, one of the Maroons, is slowly becoming an accomplished playwright and Makendal has headed up a school supplies drive for children in Haiti.
As a group, these endeavors continue to promote the Haitian culture and also excite an interest and an option to Haitian youth. Makendal recently returned from a spectacular performance of in Cambridge, Massachusetts alongside Kreyol Jazz artists Reginald Policard, Joel Widmaier, Richard Barbot, Phillipe Guillaume, not to mention Nathalie Guillaume, grand-daughter of Raoul Guillaume and daughter of Phillipe Guillaume. Prodg president, Blake Seide, recently sat down with the Maroons:

Blake Seide: What's behind the stage names?

Underscore: The stage name "Underscore" derived from a college email address with the idea of the underdog in mind. Most people don't bet on the Underdog, but you can count on the Underscore.

Eros: Eros is a Greco term meaning "Love". We as a group are not trying to elevate Greek culture, but the ideology behind the name was taken to signify "love". The love of life, our beautiful Haitian women of all shade, color, size and class and love for our people and country. Eros brings love, romance and sensuality.

Makendal: The stage name "Makendal" comes from Haitian history. Makendal in Haitian history was one of the rebels and escaped slaves who led slaves to the rebellions in the 1700’s that eventually led to the Haitian Independence in 1804. Makendal was a Maroon who believed in the emancipation of slaves by any means necessary and swore an oath to fight for freedom. He was a warrior.

BS: What kind of poetry do you write?

The Maroons: Our poetry can be considered different. We write and perform. We follow both traditional Haitian/French academics of poetry as well as modern Anglo-academics (similes, metaphors, personification, assonance, alliteration, rhythm, rhyme, meters and pentameters). In addition, we also incorporate the depth of our souls through "spoken word poetry", which is very vibrant today across America, Canada and Europe. Our writing include love, romance, history, culture, social change, political and health awareness, sensuality, spirituality... just to name a few. We write poetry with substance and meaning that is intended to make a person think, feel and see what we are writing or performing.

BS: How did you guys meet?

TM: We met in South Florida. We were all performing at various local American and Haitian venues individually. After viewing each other's performances, we realized that we had many things in common, namely that we were all Haitian poets. Nuvo Kafe in South Florida was the foundation upon which we began performing together as a group and building ourselves into what we are today.

BS: What intangibles does each member bring to the core of the group? How are you all different? How are you alike?

TM: Each member of the group brings a different style, a different viewpoint, different and positive ideas and a powerful pen to the group. Our characters and personalities are different. We are all different in our style of writing, our performances and even our individual beliefs. That is what makes this group strong. We respect each other and build each other up for the betterment of the group. Our temperaments are different, but we hold strong to our pen and our respect. We're alike in our thought processes sometimes. Sometimes we have been known to come up with the same ideas simultaneously.

BS: What are the group's beliefs and ideologies?

TM: Our belief is that "each one must teach one". We believe in an equality of all peoples and that we must work together to keep our culture alive. The Maroons are here to edutain, and to be the "voice of the voiceless"...not only the underclass, but all of our peoples who may have certain problems, concerns, feelings but have never been able to express and expound them. The old ideology of “chyen manje chyen” (dog eat dog) is aa cycle that we hope to break in our community as we truly promote unity.

BS: What are some of the biggest highlight for the group thus far?

TM: Our biggest highlights thus far has been our tour of Miami-Dade middle schools and high schools in conjunction with The Haitian Heritage Museum where we have been able to reach out to the youth on their level and bring to them the beauty of literature, the arts, and spoken word poetry. Other highlights have been our performances at UCF where we brought to the forefront the Edouard Glissant ideology of "Creolization", the release of Underscore's CD (The Base, The Place, The Chase) at Art Fusion Gallery where the Haitian community came out in strong and vibrant support, and our performances at various poetry venues where we have been able to bring Haitian spoken word poetry to the American community and expose the beauty of our culture as well as the prowess and dignity of Haitians aside from what the media has been promoting.

BS: In trying to promote your work, what is an offense that has infuriated you the most?

TM: Hahaha! LOL! I'm glad you asked that. After a performance, we have had people ask us if we write our own work. That has been an affront to us because it seems as if due to our age or presumed background, our ease on the stage or the depth of our words, it seems impossible that we would be the ones to write our own work, especially in French. Just so everyone knows, The Maroons write and perform their own work in French, Kreyol and English.

Another thing that may sometimes be disturbing is that in the past we may not have been taken seriously and were either passed over or used as buffers. This always changes once our performance is seen and felt. Lastly, to be quite honest, another offense is when certain individuals feel that our poetry is not "real" poetry, or stray away from us because it is not 100% French or 100% Kreyol, sometimes stating that it isn't even academic poetry when our background in the academics can easily be seen by anyone who has a real background in the "academics' and "scholarly" foundation of poetry. We don't take it all to heart...it motivates us to keep moving forward because we have a mission to accomplish. Our proof is in our pudding...which is our poetry and performances.

Continue with Maroon interview...