Born in Port-au-Prince, where he still lives, in 1956, Lyonel Trouillot left Haiti for the United States to escape the repression under Jean-Claude Duvalier in the early 1980s. Fascinated by literature from an early age, he collaborated in various newspapers and magazines in Haiti and the Diaspora, where he has published numerous poems and critical essays.
He has also written lyrics for songs by Tambou Libète, Manno Charlemagne, Toto Bissainthe, Jean Coulanges, and Atis Endepandan. Literature professor, journalist, cofounder of the journal Lakansyèl, Tèm et Langaj, Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Lyonel Trouillot is now a member of the Collective of the journal Cahiers du Vendredi and codirector of the collection of the same name. His La belle amour humaine was shortlisted for the Goncourt in 2011.