Reading Notes Week 14: Senghor, Part B


Senghor:

- 1906 to 2001
- Known for his poetry
- Founder of the Negritude movement, which sought to educate others, especially Europeans, about African and black culture in writing
- First President of independent Senegal
- Born in a small fishing village called Joal to a Serer father and a Peul mother. His mixed ethnicity would be a source of inspiration for his work

Letter to a Poet:

- A letter written to Aime Cesaire, a fellow poet. The letter is a poem itself, making conversation with Aime, telling him about what he's missing back home.

Night in Sine:

- A poem to a woman about spending an intimate night together, while remembering and connecting to Africa

Black Woman:

- About the beauty of a black woman, comparing her body to various things like fruit and wine.

Prayer to the Masks:

- About the spiritual side of African beliefs, involving ancestors watching over them and communicating

Letter to a Prisoner:

- Shares the experience of being in wartime Paris

To New York:

- Being both amazed and horrified by a trip to New York

Songs for Signare:

-  A love song with a double meaning about being respect for mixed race people

Elegy of the Circumcised:

- Circumcision rites mark the change from child to adult in African culture

Lispector:

- 1920 to 1977
- Brazilian modernist poet
- Known for short stories that have little structure and focus mostly on exploring the psyche of the main character

The Daydreams of a Drunk Woman:

- No real plot, most of the story is the main character's internal monologe
- She is very self critical, jealous, and constantly frustrated or irritated by those around her such as her husband

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