Born in Haiti in 1978, James Noël is a poet. He writes in order to empty his body of all words, to move forward and become lighter than paper. He has written a dozen books, including Le sang visible du vitrier [Seeing the Glass Cutter’s Blood] (Vents d’Ailleurs), Des Poings chauffés à blanc [White Hot Fists] (Bruno Doucey), and Kana Sutra (Vents d’Ailleurs), a collection of positions on a diversity of topics.

Noël’s texts have been set to music by the likes of Wooly Saint-Jean, James Germain, Robenson Auguste, and Tamara Suffren.  They have been performed by Pierre Brisson and the famous singer-entertainer Arthur H., in a show called L’Or Noir [Black Gold]. Roaming from meridian to meridian, James Noël spends his time traveling the Earth, grounding himself in his passion for literature. He has received several prizes, and is currently a resident of the Villa Medici (the French Academy in Rome).

Photo: Thierry Hengsen