- Léon Damas
Léon-Gontran Damas (
March 28 ,1912 -January 22 ,1978 ) was a Frenchpoet andpolitician . He was one of the founders of theNégritude movement.Biography
Léon Damas was born in
Cayenne ,French Guiana to Ernest Damas, amulatto of European and African descent and Bathilde Damas, aMétis se of native American and African ancestry. In 1924, Damas was sent toMartinique to attend the Lycée Victor Schoelcher (a secondary school) where he would meet his lifelong friend and collaboratorAimé Césaire .In 1929, Damas moved to Paris to continue his studies. In Paris, he reunited with Aimé Césaire and was introduced to
Leopold Senghor . In 1935, the three young men published the first issue of the literary review "L'Étudiant Noir " (The Black Student), which provided the foundation for what is now known as theNégritude Movement, a literary and ideological movement of French-speaking black intellectuals which rejects the political, social and moral domination of the West.In 1937, Damas published his first volume of poetry, "Pigments". Damas enlisted in the
French Army duringWorld War II , and later was elected to theFrench National Assembly (1948-1951) as a deputy from Guiana. In the following years, Damas traveled and lectured widely in Africa, the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. He also served as the contributing editor ofPrésence Africaine , one of the most respected journals of Black studies, and as senior adviser andUNESCO delegate for theSociety of African Culture .In 1970, Damas moved to Washington DC, where he taught at
Georgetown University and later became a professor atHoward University . Damas remained at Howard University until his death in January 1978. He was buried in French Guiana.Works
Poetry
*"Pigments". Paris: Guy Lévis Mano, (1937). Paris: Présence Africaine, (1962).
*"Poèmes nègres sur des airs Africains". Paris: Guy Lévis Mano, (1948).
*"Graffiti". Paris: Seghers, (1952).
*"Black-Label". Paris: Gallimard, (1956).
*"Névralgies". Paris: Présence Africaine, (1966).
*"Veillées noires". Ottawa: Leméac, (1972).Essays
*"Retour de Guyane". Paris: José Corti, (1938).
*"Poètes d’expression française". Paris: Seuil, (1947).
*"Poèmes Nègres sur des airs africains". Paris: G.L.M. Éditeurs, (1948).tories
*"Veillées noires, Contes Nègres de Guyane". Paris: Stock, 1943. Montréal: Leméac, (1972).
ee also
* "
Négritude "External links
* [http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Damas.html] biography, by Rochelle M. Smith, Postcolonial Studies website, English Department, Emory University. 2001 .
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