Cesaire’s Tempest, in translation by Richard Miller, is a sprightly and song-filled enchantment. The luminous intelligence of Mr. Cesaire’s meditation on the absurdities of colonialism shines through the antics of the bewildered characters. -New York Times
The weapon of poetry may be Cesaire’s greatest gift to a modern world still searching for freedom. As one of the last truly great ‘universalists’ of the twentieth century, he has had a hand in shaping or critiquing many of the major ideologies and movements of the modern world. In his own words: ‘Poetic knowledge is born in the great silence of scientific knowledge.’ -from the Introduction Cesaire’s rich and insightful adaptation of The Tempest draws on contemporary Caribbean society, the African-American experience and African mythology to raise questions about colonialism, racism and their lasting effects. AIME CESAIRE was a world-renowned poet, essayist and dramatist, whose best known works include Notebook of a Return to My Native Land, The Tragedy of King Christophe and A Season in the Congo. He was the founding editor of Tropiques, which was instrumental in establishing the use of surrealism as a political weapon. He co-formulated the concept of negritude, which urges black Africans to reject assimilation and cultivate consciousness of their racial qualities and heritage. Cesaire held a number of government positions in his native Martinique, including that of mayor of Fort-de-France. Cesaire died in 2008. RICHARD MILLER has translated many books, both nonfiction and fiction, including works by Roland Barthes, Brassa? and Albert Camus, as well as poetry, many articles and a number of plays. Among his more recent translations are Scent by Annick Le Guerer and Beethoven’s Ninth by Esteban Buch, which was published in 2002. He lives in Paris.
