The Original 1939 Notebook of a Return to the Native Land: Bilingual Edition

Aime' Cesaire's "Return to My Native Land," one of the great prose-poetry works of the twentieth century, was parented by not one or two but three literary movements: the Negritude Movement, the Harlem Renaissance, and French Surrealism. The book's very rich suffusion of cultural and political nuances may be attributed to the Harlem Renaissance and the Negritude Movement while its linguistic dexterity and philosophical daring would have to acknowledge some allegiance to French surrealism. The result is a masterful examination of a soul simultaneously created by and torn between two cultural sensibilities: the European and the African. Like James Baldwin, Albert Camus, and Frantz Fanon in their various works, Cesaire in "Return to My Native Land" takes racism and class oppression to task at the same time that he delves most deeply into the greater nature of the human condition itself. by Aberjhani author of I Made My Boy Out of Poetry and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History)

Aime Cesaire, from the Carribean island of Martinique, has written an incredibly powerful poem that focuses on the sufferings of Black people under colonialism. The poem, surrealist in nature at times, features rich language and detailed poetic pictures of the inequalities, hard labor, and abuse that the Black people endured under the oppression of colonialist rule. But Cesaire also infuses the poem, in its final passages, with hope for a brighter day in the struggle against racism where the race will be "standing and free." Cesaire was co-creator (with Leopold Senghor) of the concept of Negritude, a literary and cultural movement that emphasized pride in African heritage and culture. His poem is one of the finest examples of 20th century poetry and it demands close reading to unveil its many sparkling diamonds. It is a literary minefield that will enrich all who attend to its beauty and truth.

Notebook is so beautiful and awe-inspiring that I am loath to attempt a review for fear of failing to transmit how powerful a message it really has. That being said, it is a battle cry and a rallying point for the Negritude movement. Rejecting the roles of slave or victim, Cesaire pounds the reader with a repetition of painful and degrading symbols and words (i.e. the taboo: "nigger"). Using extended metaphors of slave-ships and plantations, Cesaire expresses the deep desire of modern Africans and African-Americans and Caribbeans to merely exist in the world, without any associated emotions of sympathy or messages of oppression. He attacks Christian dogma, concepts of white and/or European supremacy, and modern African-Americans "shaking themselves in various ways to get rid of their stripes." Scathing. Moving. Notebook is WELL worth the read.