'One of the most important writers of the French Caribbean' Guardian

Édouard Glissant's most celebrated, scintillating philosophical work - which sets out a new poetic vision for the world

*'We cry our cry of poetry. Our boats are open, and we sail them for everyone'*

In Poetics of Relation, Édouard Glissant turns the Caribbean of his birth into an energetic, multi-layered vision of a world in transformation. We come to see that relation in all its senses - telling, listening, connecting, and the parallel consciousness of self and surroundings - is the key to revolutionising mentalities and societies. We are not rooted, but ever-changing; we have a right to difference, wherever we are. Blending dreamlike prose with philosophical brilliance, this unique exploration of language, colonialism, slavery and freedom narrates an Antillean identity, but also that of the whole world, where 'the poetics of Relation senses, assumes, opens, gathers, scatters, continues, and transforms.'

Translated by Betsy Wing

Autorentext

Édouard Glissant (1928-2011) was a poet, novelist, playwright, philosopher and literary critic, and was a leading voice in postcolonial theory and Caribbean literature. Born in Martinique, he studied at the Lycée Schoelcher and the Sorbonne in Paris. He was the Distinguished Professor of French at City University of New York, Graduate Center, and was the recipient of the Prix Renaudot and the Prix Charles Veillon. His works include Poetics of Relation, Caribbean Discourse, Faulkner Mississippi, and The Ripening.