Synopses & Reviews
"They have written an essential text on identity."-
Afriscopes"This is a very philosophical, well-written book that appeals to the intellectual aspect of our spirit. . . . Everything calls to us in this little booklet."-Indymedia.be
One of the most precious qualities of both individual and collective identity, write douard Glissant and Patrick Chamoiseau here, is that it is always changing. And so fixed national identities are always at risk of suppressing or destroying our identity, both as members of a group and as individuals. Today, this repressive force is perhaps stronger than ever before, and the walls that are being built along the border between the United States and Mexico, or Israel's "security wall,"to name just two examples, must be stopped for all our sakes.
Born in Martinique in 1928, douard Glissantis a poet and literary critic. His establishment of the separatist Front Antillo-Guyanais party in 1959 provoked his exile for the next six years from his native island. Among his other publications are Poetics of Relation(1997), Caribbean Discourse(1999), and Faulkner, Mississippi(2005).
Patrick Chamoiseauwas born in 1953 in Martinique, where he currently resides. His novel Texacowas awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1992. He has written books of fiction and nonfiction alike, including To Write in a Dominated Country(1997), Chronicle of the Seven Sorrows(2003), and Creole Folktales(1997).
About the Author
Born in Sainte-Marie, Martinique in 1928, Glissant is a Francophone writer, poet and literary critic. He established the separatist Front antillo-guyanais party, which provoked his exile from his native island in 1959. He returned in 1965 to found the Institut martiniquais d'tudes. He has been visiting professor of French Literature at CUNY since 1995.