AimÈ CÈsaire dies at 94

AimÈ CÈsaire, the esteemed Martinique poet, has died. He died on Thursday, early in the morning. CÈsaire was aged 94. In a statement re-echoed by Radio France International (RFI), President Nicolas Sarkozy described CÈsaire as "a great poet" and a "great humanist." He also said CÈsaire was "a symbol of hope for all the oppressed."

CÈsaire was a fixture in France's parliament for nearly half a century and a key figure in the fight for French Caribbean rights.

It could be recalled that the Martinican poet, playwright, and politician, was one of the most influential authors from the French-speaking Caribbean. AimÈ CÈsaire initiated with LÈopold Senghor and LÈon Gontian Damas the concept and movement of NÈgritude, defined as "affirmation that one is black and proud of it".

CÈsaire's thoughts about restoring the cultural identity of black Africans were first fully expressed in Cahier d'un retour au pays natal (Return to My Native Land), a mixture of poetry and poetic prose. The work celebrated the ancestral homelands of Africa and the Caribbean.