Farewell to Aimé Césaire, bard of black consciousness

Aimé Césaire, bard of the 'Négritude' movement, died on Thursday after suffering from heart problems. He had been admitted to the hospital in Fort-de-France on April 9. A native of French Martinique, he will be honoured by a state funeral in the Caribbean island on Sunday.

The French Caribbean author leaves behind him an enormous body of literary and poetic work. "He managed, together with Leopold Sedar Senghor, to combine the particular history of the black man with the broader global experience of oppression," French historian Pap N'Diaye said on France 24.

 
"A wise man's voice dies away and it is a part of the Caribbean soul that disappears with him," the French Minister of Interior and overseas territories said in a communique, while President Nicolas Sarkozy declared that the whole nation was mourning Cesaire's passing.

The Francophony's general secretary, the Senegalese Abou Diouf, underlined the noble character of Césaire's struggle, "which was devoid of the hatred he abhorred so much."

French authorities are arranging state funerals for Cesaire together with his family at a later date.

The end of an era

For the francophone Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra, the death of Aimé Césaire marks the end of an era. “Poets like him don’t exist anymore. Subsequent generations will never reach the same level,” he told France 24 by telephone. He added, “It has nothing to do with the pseudo-intellectuals of today who seek media attention. It has to do with intelligence, the ability to break certain taboos while remaining true to yourself. He was conscious that his colour did not make him inferior.”

94-years-old at the time of his death, Aimé Césaire was born in 1913 to a large, poor family in the northern part of Martinique.

He attended the “Lycée Louis le Grand” school in Paris, where he met the Senegalese poet Léopold Sedar Senghor and the writer Ousmane Oscé. Upon meeting these men, Aimé Césaire became aware of the cultural and political oppression felt by the West-Indians and Africans. He thereafter dedicated his life to the cause of the oppressed and the colonised.

In 1934, he created, with Senghor and other African friends, the journal “The Black Student,” in which the term “négritude” appeared for the first time. This concept rejected the image of the unthreatening black man, unable to determine his own destiny.

After being admitted to the prestigious  “École Normale Supérieure” university in 1935, he published “Notebook of a Return to my Native Land,” one of his more famous literary works, before turning to the surrealist movement directed by another pillar of French literature: Andre Breton. Under his influence, Aimé Césaire wrote ”The Miracle Weapons,” a collection of poetry that kicked off his brilliant literary career.

The poet of Martinique always had two passions: writing and politics. In 1945, he was elected mayor and deputy of Fort-de-France under the banner of the French Communist Party. Twelve years later, he left the Communist Party and founded the Progressive Party of Martinique (PPM) with the goal of combating colonialism and racism. An unfaltering proponent of autonomy, but not of the independence of Martinique, Aimé Césaire only left the local government in 2005 because of health problems.

While caught up in several political struggles, the child of Martinique never forsook his first love, literature. In 1949 he published “Lost Body”, a collection of poems illustrated by the painter Pablo Picasso. He immediately followed up with “Discourse on Colonialism,” a critical essay on the misdeeds of colonialism. It was a great success and has been republished six times.

In the 1960s, Aimé Césaire explored a new method of expression: theatre. Some of his notable works include:  “The Tragedy of King Christopher” (1963), which was a success in Europe; “One Season in the Congo” (1965); and “The Tempest” (1969).

An emblematic figure of the anti-colonial movement, honorary mayor of Fort-de-France and worshipped by African youth, Aimé Césaire leaves behind him an immense and rich literary heritage.

"He was like a scout showing you the way," the Guadeloupe-born publisher Daniel maximin told AFP. "Not a literary father, but a freedom awakener.”