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Caribbean Literature (Francophone), Kasongo Mulenda Kapanga

Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Faculty Publications

Caribbean Literature (Francophone), or Antillean literature, is the literature in French from Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, and Haiti. Except in the case of Haiti, this literature developed along three major concepts: negritude, Caribbeanness, and Creoleness. Critics trace its origins to the rise of the negritude movement (in the 1930s), when black students, intellectuals, and artists revolted against France's assimilation policies to adopt an ideology aimed at restoring black and African values embedded in popular culture. The literary landmark was undoubtedly Aimé Césaire's Notebook of a Return to My Native Land (Cahier d'un retour au pays natal, 1939).