Autorentext

Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906–2001) was a poet, philosopher, and the first president of Senegal. Yohann C. Ripert is Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Stetson University.

Klappentext

Senghor: Writings on Politics brings Léopold Sédar Senghor's most vital essays, speeches, and political writings to English-language readers for the first time. Spanning the colonial and postcolonial years between 1937 and 1971, this volume captures Senghor's evolution from a pioneering poet and cofounder of Négritude to the president of Senegal as he grappled with the complexities of postcolonial identity, governance, and cultural hybridity. Senghor's reflections on topics ranging from federalism and decolonization to Francophonie reveal his commitment to weaving African and European cultural threads into a vision of global solidarity in ways that resonate with contemporary debates on race, culture, and politics. Inviting readers to engage with a seminal figure whose legacy continues to inspire new ways of thinking about freedom, independence, and coexistence, this landmark book furthers our understanding of one of the twentieth century's most influential cultural thinkers.

Inhalt

Translator's Introduction / Yohann C. Ripert ix

1. The Problem of Culture in French West Africa 1
2. What the Black Man Brings 13
3. Marxism and Humanism 31
4. Negro-American Poetry 47
5. For a Federalist Solution 65
6. Like the Manatees Go Drink at the Source 77
7. Balkanization of Federation 87
8. From Fodéba Keita African Ballet 91
9. From Federation to the Civilization of the Universal 97
10. Negritude Is a Humanism of the Twentieth Century 105
11. Francophonie as Culture 115
12. For a Senegalese Tapestry 127
13. The Problematic of Negritude 131
    Acknowledgments 151
    Bibliography 153
    ​Index