The writer and geographer Jean Morisset died on Thursday at the age of 84, while numerous testimonies from people who knew or worked with him have since paid tribute to him on social networks.
Son of a navigator, born in Bellechasse-en-Canada, he surveyed the continent from north to south, from the Far North to Patagonia, via Guatemala, Peru, Brazil, Alaska, Haiti, the Amazon or the Pantanal, so many trips which nourished his reflection on the identity and destiny of the Americas, as well as his writings.
At Mémoire d’encrier, he published two essays, Les chien s’entre-devour… (2009) and Haïti deliberatee (2011), as well as the collection of poems Chant pour Haïti (2014).
“He died yesterday at the Jewish hospital following a very rare cancer,” said Rodney Saint-Éloi, author and founder of Mémoire d’encrier.
Jean Morriset also published the essay On the Trail of Wandering Canada with Boréal, published in 2018.
With Chloé Sainte-Marie, he collaborated, among other things, on the book-disc Maudit silence, released in the fall of 2022. He also contributed to several documentaries and produced the film Kiyoukta (directed by Aïda Maigre-Touchet), which received a special mention at the 26th Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois.