Aimé Césaire
Aimé Fernand David Césaire (/ɛmeɪ seɪˈzɛər/; French: [ɛme fɛʁnɑ̃ david sezɛʁ]; 26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was a Francophone Martinican poet, author, and politician. He was "one of the founders of the Négritude movement in Francophone literature" and coined the word négritude in French. He founded the Parti progressiste martiniquais in 1958, and served in the French National Assembly from 1945 to 1993 and as President of the Regional Council of Martinique from 1983 to 1988.
Aimé Fernand David Césaire | |
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Aimé Césaire in 2003 | |
| Born | Aimé Fernand David Césaire 26 June 1913 Basse-Pointe, Martinique, Overseas France |
| Died | 17 April 2008 (aged 94) Fort-de-France, Martinique, Overseas France |
| Alma mater | École Normale Supérieure, University of Paris |
| Known for | Poet, politician |
| Political party | Martinican Progressive Party |
| Spouse | Suzanne Roussi (m. 1937, div. 1963) |
His works include the book-length poem Cahier d'un retour au pays natal (1939), Une Tempête, a response to Shakespeare's play The Tempest, and Discours sur le colonialisme (Discourse on Colonialism), an essay describing the strife between the colonizers and the colonized. His works have been translated into many languages.