Cléante Valcin

Cléante Desgraves Valcin (January 13, 1891 – January 26, 1956) was a Haitian feminist activist and writer. A founding member of the Ligue Féminine d'Action Sociale, she is credited with having published the first novel written by a Haitian woman, Cruelle Destinée, in 1929.[1]

The daughter of Hector Desgraves, a Haitian pharmacist, and Alice Cunningham, an American, she was born Cléante Desgraves in Port-au-Prince. She was a teacher until her 1917 marriage to Virgile Valcin. She published a collection of poetry Fleurs et Pleurs in 1924. She published her first novel in 1929, followed by La Blanche Négresse in 1934. Valcin represented Haiti at a number of international congresses. She was considered a champion of women's rights. Valcin was president of the Ligue Féminine d'Action Sociale at the time of her death.[1][2]