Born in
Jacmel, Moravia studied at the Petit Séminaire Collège Saint-Martial in
Port-au-Prince. He became a teacher in Jacmel and founded two periodicals, the short-lived
La Plume, published from 1914 to 1915, and
Le Temps, started in 1922 as a daily paper and later a magazine. He was an elected officer of the Haitian Academy of Arts and Sciences. An admirer of
Heinrich Heine, Moravia translated the verse of the German poet, working from the prose translation of
Gérard de Nerval. Moravia was also influenced by
Edmond Rostand's play
Cyrano de Bergerac. He also had a career in public service and was appointed
Minister Plenipotentiary to
Washington, D.C., in 1919, during the
United States' occupation of Haiti. He also served as a Senator of the Republic during the presidency of
Sténio Vincent. Moravia was jailed by the Vincent government for his articles opposed to the American occupation. == Selected works ==