A Season in the Congo (The French List) - Softcover

Césaire, Aimé

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0857424874 ISBN 13: 9780857424877

Publisher: Seagull Books, 2018

Synopsis

This play by renowned poet and political activist Aime Césairerecounts the tragic death of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the Congo Republic and an African nationalist hero. A Season in the Congofollows Lumumba’s efforts to free the Congolese from Belgian rule and the political struggles that led to his assassination in 1961. Césaire powerfully depicts Lumumba as a sympathetic, Christ-like figure whose conscious martyrdom reflects his self-sacrificing humanity and commitment to pan-Africanism.

Born in Martinique and educated in Paris, Césaire was a revolutionary artist and lifelong political activist, who founded the Martinique      Independent Revolution Party. Césaire’s ardent personal opposition to Western imperialism and racism fuels both his profound sympathy for Lumumba and the emotional strength of A Season in the Congo.

Now rendered in a lyrical translation by distinguished scholar Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Césaire’s play will find a new audience of readers interested in world literature and the vestiges of European colonialism.

About this title

About the Author:

Aime Césaire (1913–2008)was born in Basse-Pointe, Martinique. Though educated in Paris, he was deeply involved in the struggle for French West Indian rights. He is the author of several volumes of poetry and plays, including Putting in Fetters; Lost Bodies, Decapitated Sun; and The Tragedy of King Christophe. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is University Professor in the humanities and director of the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society at Columbia University.

Review:

"Patrice Lumumba's tragically brief time in power, followed by his murder, is one of those pivotal, revelatory episodes of injustice that keeps echoing through the decades. Small wonder that it has inspired artwork, novels, films, and this haunting play, which it is splendid to have in a spirited new translation." - Adam Hochschild, author of The Mirror at Midnight: A South African Journey "One of the most powerful French poets of the century." - New York Times Book Review "Cesaire [was] the greatest living poet in the French language." - American Book Review"

About this edition

• Publisher: Seagull Books
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0857424874
• ISBN 13: 9780857424877
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160