Writer and member of the Académie française, Dany Laferrière, forty years after the publication of his landmark first book, How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired, was officially received by the State University of Haiti (UEH). What might have been just another academic event was, in reality, a historic milestone.

For forty years, the former journalist for the weekly newspaper Petit Samedi Soir has traveled the world, captivated readers and audiences across every continent, and carried Haiti through his books and public appearances. Yet, until this week, he had never received official recognition from the successive leaders of the country's largest university.