Martinique (France) / All works
Poetry · A way to begin
Journal of a Homecoming
Cahier d'un retour au pays natal
Aimé Césaire · 1939
Synopsis
Returning to his native island, the poet looks at Martinique as it is, far from the ideal image he had of it: a land marked by ugliness, suffering and the shame inherited from colonisation. Punctuated by the refrain “Au bout du petit matin”, the long poem alternates verse and prose. The poet refuses to contemplate this misery as a spectator, intends to lend his voice to those who have none, and asserts a Black pride.
Context
The poem, begun during a stay in Yugoslavia, first appeared in August 1939 in the Paris review Volontés. André Breton discovered it in 1941, during a stopover in Martinique, and hailed it as the greatest lyrical monument of its time. In 1947 a bilingual edition appeared in New York and a Paris edition from Bordas, with a preface by Breton. The text, revised several times, was reissued by Présence africaine in 1956.
Who it is for
A long poem in dense language, rich in neologisms and unexpected turns of phrase; it is best read slowly, and aloud.
Prizes and reception
Translated into English as early as 1947, then several times since, most recently by N. Gregson Davis for Duke University Press in 2017.
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