Witnessing, Reimagining the French Caribbean

Françoise James Ousénie is the director of cultural affairs of the city of Cayenne, French Guiana. She is the author of the novels Entre l’Arbre et l’Ecorce (2009) and Voile de Misère sur les Filles de Cham (2003), and the poetry collection Poésie Piment, Girofle et Cannelle (2004). Published in 2013, her third novel, La Complainte de la Négresse Ambroisine D’Chimbo, is inspired by a Guyanese legend. It is a great love story between Ambroisine, a runaway slave, and D’Chimbo, a historical character depicted either as a beast or a monster in the colonial literature of the 19th century. Françoise James Loe-Mie shows the world for what it is, writing about grime, misery, lies, incest, and homosexuality – all part of life. She explores these themes in her fourth novel, Pénurie de graines (2016), was published by Orphie Editions.

Miguel Duplan was born in Sainte-Marie, Martinique and lives in French Guiana, where he teaches. He is the author of L’Acier, Discours profane, Un long silence de Carnaval, Les chants incomplets, Chronique des monts jolis, and L’indépendance des âmes.