Choukoun

Choucoune (Haitian Creole: Choukoun) is a poem by Haitian poet Oswald Durand. Its words are in Haitian Creole. Besides the fact that Oswald Durand was a poet and a writer, he also had problems with justice. In 1883, he went to jail, because of his politic ideas. During his time in jail, he wrote his famous poem Choucoune. Durand's inspiration for the poem was a marabou woman named Marie Noel Belizaire—nicknamed Choucoune—who ran a restaurant in Cap-Haïtien. She met Durand, and the two had a romantic liaison. In the poem, Choucoune deserts the poet for a Frenchman's favors. Reportedly the real Choucoune and Durand parted because of the poet's serial philandering. The poem was apparently first titled: "Frè p'tit Pierre." The poem itself remained unpublished until 1896.