Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Mapou, Jan
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1941-
History
Jan Mapou (Jean-Marie Denis) is a Haitian author, playwright, director, and arts advocate. He was one of the founders of the Haitian Creole Movement, which began in Haiti in 1965. That same year he also created Sosyete Koukouy (The Fireflies Society), a multi-disciplinary arts company dedicated to preserving Haitian cultural traditions and rituals. In 1969, Mapou was arrested by the Duvalier government for his activities promoting Haitian Kreyol. He immigrated to New York in 1972, before settling in Miami in 1984. He helped found chapters of Sosyete Koukouy in both New York and Miami, and serves as the Society's artistic director. Mapou's writing legacy includes 2 poetry books,1 short story, and 8 plays. He has also directed more than 15 plays in Haiti, New York,and Miami. He owns Libreri Mapou (Mapou Bookstore) in Little Haiti, which has one of the largest inventories of titles on Haitian culture and history in the nation. He also hosts two radio programs on education and culture on WLRN Public Radio and has served on numerous boards, including the Miami Book Fair International. Finally, he is the co-founder of the Haitian Arts Alliance . In 2007, he was the recipient of the Folk Life Award from he State of Florida.