Aimé Césaire

Born June 25, 1913, in Basse-Pointe, Martinique. Martinican writer. Writes in French.

In the narrative poem Return to My Native Land (1939; complete edition, 1947), Césaire passionately defended the dignity of the oppressed black man, scattered throughout the world. During the 1940’s and 1950’s his work was greatly influenced by surrealism, which he perceived as a form of revolutionary art; the influence can be seen in the poetry collections Les Armes miraculeuses (1946) and Soleil cou-coupé (1948) and in the drama in verse Et les Chiens se taisaient (1956). In the poetry collection Ferrements (1960), Césaire abandoned surrealism. The main theme of this collection—the difficulties of the road to liberation—is also developed in the play The Tragedy of King Christophe (1963) and in the play A Season in the Congo (1966), which is devoted to P. Lumumba.