Governor General Michaelle Jean presents DanyLaferriere, of Montreal, with the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Literature Text during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, December 13, 2006. Laferriere has become the first Quebecer and the first Haitian to be elected to the prestigious Academie francaise .
Photo Credit: PC / Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press

Quebecer of Haitian origin wins French prize

Author Dany Laferrière has become the first Haitian and resident of Canada’s French-speaking province of Quebec to be elected to the prestigious Academie  française in France.

Laferrière joins the ranks of literary greats Victor Hugo and Eugene Ionesco in receiving what is considered to be the highest honour in the French language.

The Academie’s goal is to maintain the purity of the French language and promote eloquence in the arts and sciences.

This fits in well with the aspirations of the government of Quebec which staunchly defends the French-language which it says is threatened by the surrounding North American sea of English-speakers.

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