Portrait of Fedo Boyer at CreoleTrans located in North Miami. Photo by: Ashley Miznazi

MIAMI — Faidherbe “Fedo” Boyer vividly recalls the moment he saw Creole in a new light. 

He was at South Shore High School in Brooklyn’s Canarsie neighborhood in the 1970s, celebrating Haitian culture alongside other students who had recently arrived in the United States, administrators, teachers and the school board. Up until the point he moved to the United States, Boyer’s schooling had been all in French. So when poet Dimitri Hilton, a special guest, read a poem written in Creole, the words captivated Boyer. 

Overview:

Miami-based translator, Fedo Boyer, studied under the pioneers of Creole. He stood out among a select few people in the profession with the expertise to translate a 30,000-word series for The New York Times earlier this year.

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Ashley Miznazi is a Report for America corps member covering the Haitian community in the South Florida/Miami area for The Haitian Times. Her work will heavily feature photography, video and other multimedia storytelling. Previously, Ashley was a multimedia fellow at The Texas Tribune, where she reported on DACA, Afghan resettlement and the foster care system.