Dox (poet)

Jean Verdi Salomon Razakandraina was born on 13 January 1913 in Manankavaly, Madagascar, to an observant Christian family of the noble class. His father, Samuel Salomon, was a medical doctor and frequently traveled to care for patients. His mother, Raolina, moved to the nearby town of Antsirabe with young Jean Verdi, who was often ill as a child. There she entrusted his education to her father, a farmer and schoolteacher,[1] who provided his elementary education, taught him Malagasy proverbs and stories, introduced him to Christianity, and taught him to paint and play music.[2] Razakandrainy's grandfather taught him the history of their royal family line and the people of the Anjanapara valley in southern Imerina. This education instilled in the child a traditional love of the land, respect for ancestral traditions and appreciation for the beauty of the Malagasy countryside.[1]

In 1930 he enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in Antananarivo. The following year he transferred to the illustrious Paul Minault middle school, a private Protestant institution that had earned a reputation as a center for intellectual and creative excellence, partly because the school featured well-known thought leaders like nationalist poet Pastor Ravelojaona among their teaching staff.[2] Its reputation also derived from its innovative teaching methods, based on individual reading and research, followed by debates guided by the teacher. This focus on reading allowed Razakandraina to discover a range of French novelists, among whom his favorites were Victor Hugo, Alfred de Musset, Charles Baudelaire, and Albert Samain.[3] While enrolled at Paul Minault, Razakandraina was given two nicknames: Sorajavona ("colors of the clouds", an acronym formed from the initials of his name), and later Dox, from both the English "ox", and from "paradox".[2]

The school had a student-run journal for publishing student works, and weekly sessions for showcasing student artistic talent. These avenues provided Razakandraina the opportunity to publish his first works of poetry,[3] which were composed in the romantic genre,[1] and write and organize the performance of his first theatrical plays.[3] During this period, his poetry explored themes of sensuality, desire and love. While this earned him commendation from peers and other poets of his generation, he was reprimanded by his high school teacher and respected poet, Pastor Ravelojaona, who declared "it is inappropriate for Christians to exalt love in their poetry."[4] Although his first theater troupe also enjoyed popular success,[3] and performed in both Antananarivo at the Centre Culturel Albert Camus[1] and in the coastal city of Toamasina,[3] it was soon disbanded upon the insistence of his father, who wished his son to pursue a career in medicine as he had.[2]

Dox abandoned his studies in medicine in favor of agriculture, which gave him the freedom to focus on writing poetry. He moved to Mandoto, where he worked as a farmer and continued to develop his art. There he met Perle Razanabololona, and the couple married and started a family. In 1932, he joined with other notable Malagasy poets in advancing the Mitady ny very movement ("search for lost values"), launched by Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, Charles Rajoelisolo and Ny Avana Ramanantoanina, which exalted precolonial Malagasy identity and culture.[2] Many of the poems Dox wrote in Mandoto were published in literary journals printed in Antananarivo, such as Ny Mpandinika, Ny Tantsinanana, Ny Fandrosoam-Baovao, Ny Kintan'ny Maraina, and Lakolosy Volamena. In 1941, he printed his first collection of poems, Ny Hirako. When the nationalist uprising erupted in 1947, Dox rallied behind the Mouvement démocratique de la rénovation malgache (for which his father was the secretary of the Antsirabe branch), and suffered a gunshot wound during a protest.[2]

Several members of Dox's died in the subsequent decade. The poet successively lost two children, his father, and then his wife in 1954. Dox gave up his work as a farmer and consecrated his energies to writing,[2] often working as a newspaper vendor to make ends meet. He started his own newspaper, Sakaizan'ny Mpianatra, which was short-lived.[3] In 1952 he co-founded the Union of Malagasy Poets and Writers (Union des Poètes et Écrivains Malgaches - UPEM).[2] A publishing house he launched in 1955, Imprimerie Mazava, proved a short term venture.[3] He also co-founded Tsiry, an association dedicated to publishing the works of creative Malagasy youth.[2] In the early 1960s, Dox translated three major novels from French to Malagasy: El Cid (1961), Horace (1962) and Andromaque (1964).[5] He omitted several passages of El Cid, most likely believing they would not find appeal in the Malagasy cultural milieu.[6] The popularity and quality of his poetry led the Ministry of Education to include it in the national curriculum beginning shortly after independence in 1960.[2]

In 1971 he published his only compilation of French language poems, Chants Capricorniens, which included a number of hainteny translated into French. He actively took part in the student protests of 1972 that brought down the Tsiranana administration, appearing at protests and publishing poems in favor of the popular cause. He applied his art to champion the causes of the most marginalized and disempowered segments of the population. During this time, he wrote and performed numerous songs, often in collaboration with major stars of the period, including Wilson Ramaroson, Naly Rakotofiringa, Fredy Raolifahanana, Bessa, and Dédé Sorajavona; many of these songs were highly successful and have become classics.[2]

Dox was named President of the Komitin'ny Artista Malagasy Mitambatra (K.A.MA.MI., Committee of United Malagasy Artists) and Vice President of the Andrianampoinimerina Academy,[2] then became member of the Académie Malgache on 28 August 1975.[3]

On 14 June 1978, an unknown individual bumped into Dox on the stairway between the Analakely and Ambondrona neighborhoods of Antananarivo. The poet lost his balance and died from injuries sustained while tumbling down the stairs. He is interred in the family tomb at Anjanapara, several kilometers outside Antsirabe.[3]