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| Photo provided by Tanguy Exume |
He becomes highly critical of his surroundings, fetching for bits and pieces that he stores for future creative work.
This love for writing mellowed while he lived in Montreal. Far from the homeland, conversations about Haiti erupted among Exume, his friends and his elders.
"...But when you're a kid, you are not heard," he explained, so he began to put his thoughts into papers transforming writing into his voice and bearing his multi-performed piece, Haiti Parle (Haiti Speaks). Yet this very love for writing started much earlier than that with teenage love letters to girls.
"You listen to songs," he divulged with a chuckle. "We didn't have internet back then, so you write lyrics and you start familiarizing yourself with how beautiful those lyrics are. But, more precisely, my love for writing comes from my father."
He described his father as a heavy reader and quoted, "I've never known my father without a book. He used to joke: 'When he's dead, the only thing that he would leave us is a bookshelf.'"
Through books, Exume noticed the important of literature in conveying messages. His goal is to send messages marked mostly by the political landscape and the strong sense of community and family in Haiti.
In the midst of the interview Exume remembered his earliest, most vivid memory as a 4-year old child on a troubled January 1986. His father and mother, then pregnant with Exume's younger brother, led him to a demonstration against Duvalier.
"I remember the day Jean-Claude Duvalier left," he related. "We were living on Rue Capois then, not too far from Palais National. We went out in the streets and chanted."
A song came to mind, and Exume began to sing: "Se nan riyel vayan ohhh! Yo tiye neg vanyan ohhh!"
This song, depicting the massacre of November 29, 1987, resounded in his mind as if it were yesterday.
In his household, the political and social situations in Haiti were the main topics. Under a sweltering sun, his brother and he, grey or brown from the soil, played soccer in the large backyard while the parents and friends from the balcony, discussed the political situation of Haiti. Furthermore, outside was where most of his cherished and vibrant memories took place.
This desire to be outdoor stayed with him. Unable to write at home, he finds inspiration when he is outdoor.
Outside, little ideas pique his interest and develop into bigger ideas. Writing for Exume is a slow and meticulous task that takes time.
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| Photo provided by Tanguy Exume |
"Petit pays, petit pays, je t’aime beaucoup," he concludes in the poem because as he stated, "despite all this, you can't deny the love you have for this country."
Amid his purpose to describe the crude reality of Haiti, he recounts in Nan Fon Ke'm the pride of Haiti, the pride of being among the descendants of "those who helped Bolivia, nurtured minds like Guevara and Lumumba" ["Men tankou sa-a yo ki te ede Boliva,/ Ki te bwode lide Guevara ak Lumumba].
Yet, Exume, who is a multilayered writer, embraces diverse topics aside from Haiti. Questions, such as are we practicing what we preach?, are we happy? and can we believe we will not exist one day? are addressed in his works.
In two of his poems, Perdu and Nan Yon Kafou, he invites his readers to travel inward and discover the different avenues of their mind. He uses the dilemmas that he faces and present them in his work.
His poem, C’était comme ça dans le temps, was triggered by a twofold question asked by one of his student: What is the difference between abortion and suicide? Isn't it the same thing? [the student gave him permission to write a poem based on the question]
His poem, C’était comme ça dans le temps, was triggered by a twofold question asked by one of his student: What is the difference between abortion and suicide? Isn't it the same thing? [the student gave him permission to write a poem based on the question]
Exume currently has two projects ready for publication. The first is a collection of 31 poems, titled Sur Mon 31, he wrote in 31 days for his 31st birthday. He will also produce a CD version with 12 or 13 of the poems. He intends to have a rap collaboration with Justin Mizzy Mejia on one of the poems. Exume previously recited a poem as the intro track of Mizzy's album, ComMiZZerate Your Soul (CYS).
The second project is a novel about a mathematician who, unable to find a pertinent job, worked at a call center and discovered another side of society. The title of the novel is, Le Centre, and the novel was revised by Gilbert Mirambeau Jr.
Soon, he will posting some of his performances on Youtube not for visual purposes but rather to give his audience a chance to see how he is on stage.
Exume is also venturing into Spanish while finding inspiration from the Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda because of his ability to condense emotions and send it out to the world in the form of concise, powerful poems. However, his favorite poet remains Michel Welbeck.
The second project is a novel about a mathematician who, unable to find a pertinent job, worked at a call center and discovered another side of society. The title of the novel is, Le Centre, and the novel was revised by Gilbert Mirambeau Jr.
Soon, he will posting some of his performances on Youtube not for visual purposes but rather to give his audience a chance to see how he is on stage.
Exume is also venturing into Spanish while finding inspiration from the Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda because of his ability to condense emotions and send it out to the world in the form of concise, powerful poems. However, his favorite poet remains Michel Welbeck.
