Césaire, Aimé

(b. 1913- )

   poet, political figure

   Born in Basse-Pointe, Martinique, and educated in Paris at the École normale supérieure, Aimé Césaire, who was a descendent of slaves, was a professor and then a Communist deputy in the National Assembly for Martinique, where, upon his return, he served as mayor of Fort-de-France. In his writings, he uses elements of surrealism to express the great desire of his people for emancipation. His fiery words and epic images translate as a rejection of the colonial system and as an assertion for negritude (a term he coined) and for the colonized. These concepts he would develop further with his associates Léopold Senghor and léon-gontran damas. His writings, however, also demonstrate a powerful faith in life and a universal aspiration for justice and happiness. They include his poetry (Cahier d'un retour au pays natal, 1938-39, published 1947; Soleil cou coupe, 1948; Cadastre, 1961), as well as politically inspired plays such as La Tragédie du roi Christophe (1963), Une saison au Congo (1966) and Une Tempête, a free adaptation of Shakespeare (1969), in which one hears the same message of revolt: "i will give with such force, the great Black cry, that the very foundations of the world will be shaken!"