French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. J. Arnold, Aimé Césaire. Genesis and Transformations of a Poetics
Francophone and Oral Literatures
Aimé Césaire. Genesis and Transformations of a Poetics
Albert James Arnold
Verlag Königshausen & Neumann, 2020.
346 p.
48,00 EUR
ISBN: 978-3-8260-7054-9
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This essay examines in detail the trajectory of Aimé Césaire's poetics. At the origin of the Négritude project, Césaire's early texts reveal a spiritual drama in relation to the rise of fascism. His response to this disarray is expressed in the composition of the first "Cahier d’un retour au pays natal". The hermeneutic circle specific to the 1939 text reveals the tragic sacrifice of the old Negro, who must be succeeded by a new Negro. In these pages, the reader will discover an overlooked facet of Césaire's journey: the specific context of his first poetry collections and the American edition of the Cahier published by Brentano’s in New York. From 1956 onwards, Césaire sacrificed the originality of his earlier poetics, aiming for a new horizon of expectation focused on the decolonization of Africa. This turning point favored the thesis of Césaire as a Marxist writer. This essay crowns half a century of work on Aimé Césaire's poetry by a seasoned scholar. It takes its place alongside those of Ernstpeter Ruhe and Lilian Pestre de Almeida, published in the same collection, to rescue Césaire from the narrow confines of "Francophonie" and place him among the greatest French-language poets.
The author:
Albert James Arnold, Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia, has also taught in France (Paris III), Germany (Potsdam), and the Netherlands (Leiden). His scholarly work has been published in Europe, the Caribbean, and North America.
This study situates Césaire within twentieth-century poetry and postcolonial literature, tracing how global political upheಾವals, including the rise of fascism and the subsequent movements for decolonization, shaped his aesthetic choices. By examining the 1939 edition of Cahier d’un retour au pays natal alongside later collections and the pivotal New York publication by Brentano's, the book sheds light on the shifting horizons of a foundational literary voice. It contributes to ongoing scholarly debates surrounding the intersection of political ideology and poetic form in Caribbean literature.
The volume will appeal to researchers, graduate students, and readers interested in Francophone literature, modern poetry, and intellectual history. Scholars of postcolonial theory and comparative literature will find valuable insights into the reception of Négritude and the broader implications of transnational publishing. By engaging with half a century of rigorous scholarship, this work offers an essential resource for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Césaire's complex artistic and ideological trajectory.