CSMS Magazine
It was with deep sadness that I received the news this morning. Gérard Campfort, who suffered from frail health for a long time, died in his sleep last night. Campfort has always been a humble personage, who never wanted to project the image of a man of great intellect. In fact, he really was. He was an intellectual, not an intellectualist. However, behind the shadow of his simplicity lied a wealth of knowledge that all humanity would crave. “Gérard Campfort c’est le charme discret de la connaissance.” A distinct charm of intellect. Gérard Météllus conceded this morning in a private conversation over the passing of Campfort.
Gérard Campfort did not leave a repertoire full of paperback trades. However, he was a poet and a great prefacer. He prefaced several collections of poetry, including Poême pour la Quête de l’ Aube (Poetry for Quest of Dawn) by Roger Aubourg, who, like Jaques Stephen Alexis, disappeared in 1964—not sure of the date, for his body was never discovered.
At a very young age, he received a scholarship to study in France, where he earned a doctorate degree in Philosophy. In Paris, he cofounded the group Shango—a folkloric band made up of university students from the Latin Quarter.
Gérard came down from Paris in the 1980s and settled in South Florida, where he collaborated with Société Haitienne de Cinéma and several progressive newspapers, like Haiti Progrès, Haiti en Marche etc…. Gérard was a longtime friend. Funeral arrangement has not yet been made.
My dear comrade, Gérard, you’ll surely be missed.
