Évelyne Trouillot
A Haitian literary voice who excavates her nation's painful history and resilient spirit through novels, plays, and poetry.
Born 1954 (age 72)·Birthday: January 2·Baby Boomers
Biography
Born in Port-au-Prince, Évelyne Trouillot emerged from a family steeped in Haitian letters, carving her own distinct path as a writer and educator. While teaching French and Creole, she began publishing work that grappled with the complex layers of Haitian identity, memory, and the lingering shadows of dictatorship. Her writing, often centered on women's experiences, refuses simple narratives, instead offering nuanced portraits of life under political oppression and the quiet acts of resistance within families. Trouillot's novel 'The Infamous Rosalie,’ a harrowing account of a slave woman’s life, earned international recognition, including the prestigious Prix Carbet. Committed to linguistic heritage, she writes and publishes in both French and Haitian Creole, ensuring her stories resonate within her community and beyond, solidifying her role as a crucial chronicler of Haiti’s soul.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Évelyne was born in 1954, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Évelyne Was Born
The biggest hits of 1954
#1 Movie
White Christmas
Best Picture
On the Waterfront
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Évelyne's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1954Born
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1959Started school
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1967Became a teenager
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1970Could drive
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1972Could vote
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1975Turned 21
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1984Turned 30
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1994Turned 40
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $90,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"The Sign" — Ace of BaseBest Picture: Forrest Gump
2004Turned 50
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Gas: $1.88/galHome: $157,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Yeah!" — UsherBest Picture: Million Dollar Baby
2014Turned 60
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Gas: $3.37/galHome: $160,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Happy" — Pharrell WilliamsBest Picture: Birdman
2024Turned 70
AI reshapes industries; Paris Olympics
Gas: $3.31/galHome: $372,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Espresso" — Sabrina CarpenterBest Picture: Anora
2026Age 72 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Awarded the Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe in 2004 for her novel 'The Infamous Rosalie' ('Rosalie l'infâme').
- Her play 'Le Bleu de l’île' explores the psychological impact of the Duvalier dictatorship on Haitian families.
- Serves as a professor of French and Creole at the Université d'État d'Haïti, influencing a new generation of writers.
- Co-founded the literary and artistic society 'Étonnants Voyageurs Haiti' to promote Haitian literature and culture.
Did You Know?
She is the sister of the late novelist and anthropologist Lyonel Trouillot.
Her first published work was a collection of short stories titled 'La Chambre interdite' ('The Forbidden Room').
She has translated works, including children's stories, from French into Haitian Creole.
Trouillot's writing is frequently studied in university courses on Caribbean and postcolonial literature.
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