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Les chemins qui s’ouvrent sur l’enfance, ou qui lui permettent de s’ouvrir, sont nécessairement vectoriels, en ce sens qu’ils impliquent des forces orientées qu’en philosophie on appellerait axiologiques. Car, on ne peut aborder l’enfant sans rencontrer continuellement tout un réseau de valeurs qui en forment le tissu le plus profond, celui qui supportera ses orientations et les décisions de sa vie. Des méthodes, des approches, des perspectives différentes se découvrent dans un fécond croisement de la philologie et de la linguistique, de l’art et de la littérature, de l’histoire et de l’archéologie, comme aussi de la science politique et de l’économie, sans oublier la religion.

The present article examines the theoretical and literary writings of Édouard Glissant in light of key concepts and features that have been central to his thoughts on cultural diversity. To address these, this study focuses on the notions of trace, opacity and the complexity of collective memory. It points to his experimentation with literary genres, his strategic use of marronnage, his playful but conscious manipulation of narrative conventions, viewpoints and techniques, and views them as resistance strategies or weapons of defence against a singular system of domination. I shall argue that his extensive discussion on the interactive plurality of relations aims at transforming the imagination by valuing different ways of knowing, perceiving, relating and representing individuals and collectivities not only in the Caribbean but in the 'Whole-World'. These philosophical and experiential traces in Glissant's writings offer a multiplicity of possibilities: they can twist and turn, divide or diffract, soar or plunge, revert and divert, while engaging curious readers to seek in a myriad of ways an open-ended inquiry into the human condition.

As the title of this article may allusively suggest, the history of Haitian literature is tied to the island's distinctive political status as the first Caribbean nation to gain its freedom from French colonial rule. According to historical accounts, it took more than thirteen years of militant resistance and tactical warfare to defeat Napoleon's expeditionary force and proclaim its national independence on 1 January 1804. Names of militant resisters like Makandal, Daniel Boukman, Toussaint L'Ouverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Henri Christophe are etched in the national collective consciousness and figure prominently in Haitian cultural expressions. Once the 'pearl of the French Antilles' to now the third poorest nation of the planet, Haiti continues to struggle for its freedom and its dignity. 1 January 2004 will mark Haiti's bicentennial and it appears befitting to revisit Haiti's past which fuelled and yielded a rich literary legacy. This article will focus more specifically on the wealth and breadth of literary writings and discourses that have shaped, influenced and enriched Caribbean narratives within a continuum of tradition and innovation.