COMRADE EROS: THE EROTIC VEIN IN THE WRITING OF RENE DEPESTRE Author(s): BRIDGET JONES Reviewed work(s): Source:

Caribbean Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 4, Francophone Caribbean Literature (DECEMBER, 1981), pp. 21-30 Published by: University of the West Indies and Caribbean Quarterly Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40653425 . Accessed: 15/10/2012 15:35
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COMRADEEROS: THE EROTIC VEIN IN THE WRITINGOF RENE DEPESTRE by BRIDGET JONES thenewartcannot butplacethestruggle of Ofcourse in thecentre of its attention. But the theproletariat to numbered ploughof the new art is not limited the it must the On field contrary, strips. plough entire in all directions. - Leon Trotsky . . . there was no danger thatmyblade woulddie of starvation . the fertile curvesof Parispromised (. .) me an infinity ofnewlandsto plough. - RenDe'pestre to explore thetopicof RenDpestre intoaccount It is myintention as love-poet, taking therecent where This author has so farattracted more theyseemrelevant. proseworks thanas troubadour, critics as anti-imperialist his prolific noticefrom despite outputof love-poetry. his career, to put together I shallbeginby moving trying chronologically through has from Haiti a which shifted to Cuba the of thesomewhat scattered production pieces Paris and even via round, Moscow, Peking. longway thismoregeneral I will tryto focusbriefly on one or two background, Against the conflict between issues;especiallyDepestre's"pagan"sensuality, potential specific the and anarchistic force of the and of a love, revolutionary discipline vulnerability however criticism to from a feminist view machismo, revolutionary, point. the terrible" "Enfant Early poems: See mehere poet adolescent a vastdream ofliberty andlove chasing Etincelles, p. 2 she openedherthighs so thatI could celebrate with thefresh wordsof mysixteen of her yearstheglory sex Allluia pourune femme-jardin, p. 68

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of poemsappeared in Haiti: Etincelles two collections Dpestre'sfirst ("Sparks") in 1945, and Gerbe de Sang ("Spray of Blood") the next year.These poems span a for formative andhisfriends in theLa Ruchegroup ofyoung intellectuals. period Dpestre a rare echo moment on Surrealist rhetoric Revolution was when They (20 yearsafter) taken at facevalueandachieved an impact In an exuberant on realevents. to the response visitof Andr Breton latein 1945,they of Haitito revolt calledtheyouth and setin train thestrikes and demonstrations which Lescot. l It wasa brief moment toppledPresident of triumph, followed of De'pestre and Jacques Alexis however, by the departure Stephen to Parisin order their soft to structure Marxism. The adolescent loverof Etincelles theunbounded butvery blurred expresses aspirationsof youth:ONE LOVE whichembraces love of mankind and of woman, a lustfor freedom and joy, "unlimited as one of theaimsof thestruggle honeymoons" (p. 27). withavenir/espoir/esprance/libert Amourpermuttes and pitrvolutionnaire. Where a partner she is thebrownskinned "chreenfant" arrested at sweetsixexists, magically teen (a sister to Rimbaud's childprincesses femme-enfant and Breton's of Arcane17 (1944)). is already The secondcollection flesh. and closerto incarnated tougher Againthe is on a visionof a newcreation, ofrepression, stress all forms freefrom socialor moral. is typical of thisupsurge A poemlike "Libration" ofvitalenergy, celebratconfidently the rebelssoup,withkissesfor of younggirls sex, the tributes ing successful (bringing in a fraternal In these to overthrow theelite(the 100 families). solidarity onions)and rich who typically seducerof Etincelles, met with poems,the ardentfirst personsingular has been replacedby a confident out, as in "La nouvelle indifference, plural,setting is altogether more to repopulate a newEden.There a slightly matured of Creation," range one can clearly tracethe"fulgurations" ofhisSurrealist mood and method here,though mentors. Thisearlyperiodis thusmarked in poeticform of a myth of self bythepromoting as youthful subversive and precocious A debt to Rimbaud, themajorcult poeticgenius. heroof earlySurrealism is freely Thepose of subverting a bourgeois order acknowledged. the offers (the maskofnaivety, by a charmed manypoeticrewards powerof innocence Dpestrealso picksup the "Bad blood" stance;thebarbarian, enthusiasms). engaging orcriminal whothreatens civilisation. European "nigger" KeithWarner reminds thenotso terrible "enfant us, in "Rene'Dpestre, terrible",2 thatmanyf Dpestre's concerns hereareshared a of black tradition welltopics protest established has However,themyth by thisdatein the Americas. certainly importance forDpestre's own conception of himself. To be hailed by contemporaries forpoems "written on school desks,"serveas propagandist-in-chief for a Surrealist Revolution whichactually theseare likely to prove memories. indelible Moreover, toppleda regime, thiswas a "youthtime": "All thetwenty could identify withtheimageof a -year-olds men to dance on the ruinsof a rotten world"(G. wild,wild-haired Dpestre inviting Gouraige).3 a sicksociety, in blustering violent against poetryof thistime,though Dpestre's comesintoitsownin Arcblackphalluswhich offers onlya fewhintsof the rampagous

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Wehaveto waituntiltheshort stories of 1973 to find en-ciel pour l'Occidentchrtien. of the "enfant thatat a of thesexualprowess terrible." It is significant fuller expression shouldbe returning withobvious relish to recountinhiscareer, later much De'pestre stage of theearly work. which enrich thefictional Haitian exploits autobiography ingamorous Allluiapour une Two storiesin particular, amongthe "tales of solarlove" entitled thejoyfulsubversion continue of received values."Rose'na dans bourgeois femme-jardin, ' the initiation la montagne servant who is by a succulent portrays girlof a schoolboy forextraLatinlessons.The Catholic withan Irishpriest vowsofchastity are holidaying of Rosnaandhervaudouloas. Eventually tried by theunselfconscious sensuality sorely heroworships theteenage at hershrine and Father losesan offending Mulligan part.The contains an assaultnot on Church buton Family. a schoolboy titlestory heroand Again a precociousseduction, this time of his aunt Zaza. The sense of a tabou brokenis bed ("un litd'autrefois, haut", conveyed repeatedly: by thehighfamily incroyablement and finally, moremelodramatically, in p. 55), by the disapproving gaze of grandmother, thehintofhellfire whenZaza is burnt alivein thecinema sheowns.A third tale,thebest, and closerto local folklore, as pokes funat the Jacmel judge who lustsafter Georgina she takesherrefreshing bathunderthecoverof night. theobjectof ridicule is the Again thepious,the repressed, whilethe narrator of folk, , possessed respectable by the spirit l'eau (Brother caresses theyoung Water), girl's compre ripeform. laterdate of publication, thesestories areworth intoaccount. taking Despitetheir in such as the anti-Catholicism Etincelles reinforce already They (especially topics explicit thegeneral stanceforthesufferer as personified by poemXVII), and reiterate (especially a desirable their self-confi(cf. "Face a la nuit").In particular, female) against employers dent ebullience helps us to read the mood of the earlier"ngreaux vastesespoirs" themiraculous couldchange theworld. (Etincelles, p. 2), whobelieved weaponofpoetry
A Volcano in Paris

Journald'un animal marin,p. 83

The Party, whoseevery cell is a bay opening living - poeminhonour on to theazureofbrotherhood of the 50thbirthday of Maurice Thorez(Vegetations de clart, 21) LovelyDito ofmyyouth

wentto Parison a government bestowed De'pestre scholarship, generously by the new president, Dumarsais to forestall recurrence of zeal Estim', any revolutionary by those who had helpedto put him in power.He followed coursesin literature at the Sorbonne and in political science.Mostof the poetry from thisperiodtries to combine the two. Two veryslimvolumeswerepublished in his "Poetry noteby Pierre Seghers books" series:Vge'tations de clart' ("Plantlifeof theclearlight"),1951, witha caretactful and Traduit du grand from theopen fully preface by Ce'saire, large("Summoned collection in 1956 as one oftheearly sea"), 1952. A moreconsiderable appeared publicationsof Presence its name fromDpestre'ssingle best-known Africaine, taking poem, "Mineral noir" ("Black ore"). Againmaterial 20 yearslaterserves to supplepublished ourviewofthisperiod. ment

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de clart is a dismaying Onlyone piece exampleof good intentions. Vgtations Stalin: "I singof a the to and itemslike has been resurrected homage subsequently, here of theallis much There to rest. man in fullbloom . . ." have been quietlylaid with basic of the cause moment, anaphoric purposeyardageunrolledfortheworthy to thee . . ." or as in the structures of thetype: "Hail to thee . . ./Hailto thee . . ./And noir(p. 26): in Mnerai miners fortheslainNigerian lament reprinted ' Miners ... on strike ... miners Blackminers ... at thistimehad becomefullyand firmly the Dpestre The choice of topicssuggests to thedemand and was responding to hislocal cell of theCommunist committed Party, and to setitssealon rallies, verse and accessible forinspiring meetings pamphlets. protest canonofholymenandidentia parallel with of psalmandbenediction, Secularexamples modes. cal litanical has a core of in chains," "Poem of myhomeland subtitled The secondnotebook, to to return abortive an it chronicles since morestrongly attempt experience, personal of the further of his Czechwife.Among Haitiin thecompany "party congress" poems he places type,whichnow rangewidelyfromKorea and Pekingto South America, the of of denunciation and an effective of home and family, memories corrupt poem sees the bloodyhandsof the gringo Haiti. Everywhere Presidents Dpestre oppressing a more forthe closing reserved is mainly behinddictatorships. poems,where Lyricism a of view from too the reader visionof a new dawnin theEast rescues negative hopeful Dito white-skinned the theluminous In addition, by inspired imagery globaloppression. ofherhomeminiature a stylised with of thecollection, setsherlikean iconat thecentre and state of thepeople" thesongs electricity land,where"the policego sidebysidewith du grand all shadows has dispelled large, p. 34). (Traduit intoa morerelaxed had settled noirwas published, Dpestre By thetimeMinerai committed piecesand more strongly manner, bringing together image-making, enjoying withCsaire, his debate of is the This intimate period poems of love and childhood. black universal of its with of the he challenges essentialism Negritude, where assumption his choice. Marxism orients each At traits. values and stylistic cross-roads, Dpestre's tonetowards at Dpestre's distaste morefrom Csaire's sycophantic acerbity mayspring of the with hardline frustration his from own indeed and orthodoxy increasing Aragon, from dates to Thorez letter Communist the French 1956). Though remaining Party (his assimilated and Aragon of Eluard thelessons with rather (Dito/Edith dutifully derivative, withthe short noirshowsa new ability to Aragon's cast as counterpart Eisa), Minerai title the of sarcasm the inventive off carries and anecdotal poem. neatly piece, as We mightalmosthave believedthat in Paris Dpestreacceptedmonogamy, ofthese texts, ifwe onlyhad theevidence subsequent poems.However, Engelsadvocates, de goliber"Mmoires like ClaudeRoy,roundout thepicture. and thehintsof friends with student is an odd piece. It readsas ifa cheerfully fantasy gotcrossed bawdy tinage" boaststudent a medical shows it as memoirs, tale. Looselyframed a moralanti-colonial as many as possiblefrom of as manygirls thatis thelaying ing of his "geolibertinage", of the to a as is feeling partsof theglobeas possible.Thisenterprise presented response civilisawith disillusionment about and disgust (Western) alienation European by brought

25 on getting withthe involved It endswitha homily tion,the coloniser's phonyculture. of the "erotic a breathless ourherosupplies back home. In between inventory struggle ironical a moresecure tone. of theplanet"(p. 100). I wishI couldfind resources hisexperience, broadens Thissecondphasein Dpestre's developitinerary greatly education. Perhaps multiplying inghis poetic,politicaland,it wouldseem,sentimental somewhat overhis experience. The mtropole thandeepening rather mayhaveproved his poeticcontacts. It cannot havebeen in thesepost-liberation years, despite whelming the Liberator of the Haitianimageof Breton to thereality easyto adjusttherapturous thenewleft-wing uncertain comeback and existentialist leader's Surrealist pressure among intoa rolewhich the in the Resistance. offered security, Dpestre stepped forged groups ofa showpiece Black armsof Stalinas wellas Dito,andseemsto havebecomesomething Fora Haitian, a recurrent frustration at Poet forCommunist platforms. feeling anguished theloyalty is easilyunderstandable. of his homeland, to worldrevolution the dilemma The wryhumour consolation in between. ofthe He seemsto havefoundsomeamorous all in all,thesewerenotsuchbad years. as volcanosuggests that, self-portrait
Cuba

Eros Comrade Makesloveand therevolution! Potea Cuba,p. 94 and revoluthe exiledHaitian between to the encounter Therewas a curtain-raiser untilnow his secondhome.In 1952 Dpestre has proved Cuba which sojourned tionary in back to Europe.The episodefigures Cuba beforebeingdeported in Batista's briefly "Noces Triscornia" for l'Amourfou. The story, formas anothertriumph fictional whosewifeis sickin the threedays of love in jail betweenthe protagonist, celebrates and Soledad,a youngSpanishwomandetainedto awaither Cuban prisoninfirmary, motif:the libertine so a familiar has not been consummated, husband.The marriage the affaire. to adds Don of a bridal Juan) (cf. piquancy virgin hijacking theimpactof to reinforce An experience of Batista's by contrast jails onlyserves After himself in Cuba in theearly on Dpestre. revolution Castro's days euphoric finding a specialcultto thefigure hissupport, withdrawn ofCastro's he has never victory, vowing his intense forJacquesRoumainin earlier admiration of Che Guevarawhichparallels years. After one morevolumewithSeghers, Journal Cuba, Dpestrepublished adopting d'un animalmarin("Diary of a sea-creature") 1964, and in 1967 PrsenceAfricaine out his vaudouritual l'occident chrtien." Proseworks brought poem,"Un arc -en-pour havebeenmorefrequent since:a collection Porla revolution, of essaysand articles, por la poesia, 1969, the shortstories to in 1973, and the novel El palo alreadyreferred mtde Cocagne/"The Pole". Mostof themoredurable ensebado/Le Greasy poemsofthis intoPotea Cuba, 1976. Several other arepromised, titles and periodhavebeencollected continues to be an inveterate of versesforspecialoccasions.After Dpestre composer activecontributions to thework of Casa de las Ame'ricas as editor, translator, etc.,lecturof Havana,and radiowork, he is currently in Parisas an ing at the University residing assistant to theDirector of UNESCO.

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It contains d'un animalMarin. forJournal I mustconfessthatI havea weakness is a sense thecollection while ofgreat charm, through bubbling lyrics many unpretentious forth thedawn," in "the Cubanhandsthathavebrought ofjoyfulrevelation, delighting Noticeforexample the on the Cubanwomanhe was to marry. centred and increasingly to Nelly, dedicated of "Le temps richstately and, rhythm qui brle"("Timeis burning") which flew like "yurgreen dress like tractors", trouvailles "thighs amongtheinevitable linenimageof time she saw me . . .(p. 50), and the bleaching away fromyou/every "Gammes". translation and of which a fullEnglish is the onlyworkby Depestre Arc-en-ciel inaccessible as more much detail it in as to treat so I do notintend edition critical exists,4 chants fora dramatised structured texts.In an intricately provides sequence,De'pestre to wage the black the loas and theirattendant vaudou ceremony, spirits mobilising a purealso implies The rainbow Yankeeimperialism. transcending image against struggle the poet makesa pointof the union.As elsewhere in a prismatic ly racialdichotomy attitude to sex,and itsharmonious Christian therepressive between contrast incorporaof focusis the "all-American" tion into vaudou belief.The dramatic family a white H bomband the and the "Christ Alabamajudge,who is fortified Ku-klux-klan/The by thevaudou has no defence but the of Statue And electric against chair/ Liberty (p. 18), to the of vaudou the of virile number sends a pantheon figures De'pestre poet/priest. The extraare which with results the humble judge'swomenfolk, very exciting. poetically richness of vaudou givesthisworka specialplace in Dpestre's imaginative ordinary lost their issuesof the 1960s havealready the political eventhough immediacy. oeuvre, to the is a mat de novel Le parable, returning political cocagne(1979) De'pestre's to a It with chains." deals in "homeland central woundof the publiccompetition climb HenriPostei, of mulatto a thegreasy opponent the regime, pole, forwhich middle-aged a symbolic creates contest the and virility. his will-power recovers trivial, Apparently are of brutal "zombified" focusin whicha people oppression, shownan by longyears summit of thisphallic the reach to Postel'sprotracted revolt. poteau struggle exemplary ritesand a loving of vaudou the He all needs in detail. is traced mitan help gruelling and ardour.This workis more of an extended his strength to gather femme-jardin novelsof beside most Latin American somewhat and nouvelle, lightweight appears his to of love life and in the The peopletends daily pleasure dictatorship. poet'snostalgic author the "Port-au-Roi" of centre the in arena this fictional In bluntthe satirical edge. theeasy thanpolitical, morepersonal is perhaps which enactsa vicarious despite triumph has a work the Duvalier the to references of the However, appealing very regime. decoding ofthe evidence and addsfurther in thevaudouscenes, of texture, exuberance particularly the hand on the one writing: imaginative Dpestre's present throughout key dichotomy on the other the a to reduced human half-life, passive zombies, by oppression beings than to Rather life and love. his the individual of intense viewing exerting right vitality thedireccontinues tool of socialcontrol, as a reactionary thevaudoureligion Dpestre on the creative its and of tionof his Che Guevara Arc-en-ciel, energies by enlisting psalm, of deathand destruction. theforces to combat sideof Revolution the somewhat the first Pote Cuba, containsthreesections, autobiographical, of revolutionin the last to St. Eros," seconda "Gospelaccording mainly poems pursuit

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Thefirst section contains somegoodthings, liketheartfully ballad arystatements. simple The secondallowsSt. Erosto preside d'adolescence." "Souvenir overa further selection of occasional whichcelebrate thejoys of theflesh in a world too love-poems, plus others : fullofmisery Softis thesilkat themostvitalspotofthefemale form Sweettoo mywords to sing With candour and respect ... I havealways saidyesto woman Yes yesto herglory and to hergreat warmth ofbeing (pp. 99 - 100) A theme touched on hereis thecommercialization ofsex within thegeneral of corruption economies. The itemsof "Poesieet rvolution" are usually to comconcerned capitalist memorate Gandhito Angela Davis.It includes a longmeditation peopleand places,from on Lenin,attempting to assesshis complexdestiny, fulsome in praise, but not glossing over the trialsand the purges. This wholecollection has its weak moments, but still vibrates with a wide-eyed relish for lifeandlove. A few more generalpointsmay be made after this lengthy excursion through career. should have been said to show thatDe'pestre exultsin a conDe'pestre's Enough to love. His celebration of the delights of theflesh a sciously paganapproach recognizes in satisfaction. "The taste of is my only season" Tightness physical earthly happiness drawson needsas basicas breadandpurewater, milk noir,p. 36). His imagery (Mineral and honey;his womenare landscape, sun and flower, his lovers bathesacramentally in " sums this river or sea. Thestressed idea of natural a "femme-jardin expression bloom, up of and to Eden before the and have never been refuge fertility growth. Theybelong Fall, to catechism. Wecan see thecontribution of Surrealism to thenotionof the sovereign of rights as thecatalyst of a liberated self.5RroseSelavy(Eros c'est la vie/is love, of desire life) libertine influential. punnedDesnos and Duchamp,and Aragon's earlyproseis clearly Surrealism was also theatrically anti-clerical. caststhe Church as a Dpestrerepeatedly force. The Rosnastory is like an archetypal withthesickfrustrations repressive fantasy of thepriest set against the "natural" unionof theyoung theprotection of coupleunder theloas. The castrating vowsof chastity rebound theFather. It might be rememagainst beredthattherewas a particularly clearpolarity between CatholicChurch and vaudou In the"Anti-superstition" formative of 1941,President during Depestre's years. campaign Lescot and the Catholichierarchy the folkreligion. Roumain was activein persecuted the it forms the of a and novel friend, opposing campaign, by De'pestre's subject major Alexis. little It the to on conflict to the Stephen Jacques requires adjustment project and discredit it to of Arc-en-ciel, UnitedStatesmilitarism "Alabama"setting by linking The lustyvaudou gods can then rescuethe Southernbelles from sexual repression. morbid puritanism. For theearlySurrealists there was littlecontradiction between and revolupoetry a since renewal in men's not Liberatsocial tion, minds, practical theyenvisaged change. the a which most forms of was could contain artistic and erotic imagination ing project In work there is strain in little the early expression. Dpestre's similarly blending pursuit love and the rhetoric of action.Love figures of liberated in the onslaught on the old

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of themilitant if nothis right. reward The precocious lover alsojoinsin shocking world, an thebourgeois to death, always appealing pastime. seemsto have kept faithin ComradeEros.Should a committed revoluDpestre much of his as this on as Eros tionary expendquite love-poetry? mayconceivenergies buthas a lessobvious rolein an eraofreconstruction. ablyhelp to undermine capitalism, a One poemof the 50s already need to himself for so insistently suggests justify harping Erosso du grand on thecharms of Dito (Traduit he need enrol Would to large, p. 35). the under if that not a was natural dissident? banner, explicitly revolutionary pagan L'Amour fou is by definition a force subversive to anyorder, an anarchical of expression desire. Whereas as individual satisfaction a and harmless physical cheap pastime, presents to an established is implying no threat commitment to a lovewhich is a order, De'pestre creative individual liberation. The flawedtoneof the "geolibertinage" is botherstory some. It suggests the dilemma of therevolutionary loveris best self-censorship. Perhaps in the "Ode summed to a militia-woman:" she is to be on up supposed guarddutyso While we aremaking love Ourtwo Colt45 pistols keepwatch chair On a single ofnight! marvellous Potea Cuba,p. 85. How successfully assume thecontradiction between loveand duty? doesthechair It is clearthatDepestre thecurrent: of associated with the maybesituated in| Marxist is seenas repressing thesex Reich,in whichcapitalist periodof Wilhelm society lifeof theindividual his or herlabour:Familyand Church inhibit the just as it exploits natural to createdociletools of theexisting classstrucurgesof youngpeoplein order the outsider ture.6However, can also wonder theerotic whether in Depestre's dimension workdoes not also function almostas a safety a reserved area- a garden valve,creating -rof delight where he has no obligation to express a party line.A policedliterary estabis not without its tensions, lishment evenfor themostsincerely devoted ofitsadherents. can be avoidedis fortherevolutionary libertine of interests One way theconflict In the vaudou chants which his energies intothestruggle to channel against imperialism. of Alabama is a release ofexuberant chastise there white womenfolk potency. Ifyou see a green snake with thatis me! youreldest daughter, Dancing (Damballah-Wedo) castsuponyourfive Mysword daughters Themocking look ofa pagangod sword of Ogou-Badagris Myphallic Teasesthelewdcuriosity hens. . . Offive is halfa metre Myphallus long SabadiSobo Kalisso He knows howto climb trees SobadiSobo Kalisso

29 oftheearth He goesdownto theheart SobadiSobo Kalisso etc.,etc. (Guede'-Nibo) Securein his right of revenge, the blackrapist and thisis a theme needhaveno scruples, back to the Rimbaldian "Saisonde colre:""I belong to thehideousrace/What reaching woman. . ." of 1946. do you sayWhite Even allowing I do not findthisposition forits "blackhumour," veryappealing; in its assaultson innocent understandable but not justifiable It leads me to humanity. the impliedattitude to womanin Depestre. He protests wantto examinefurther his in a marvellous interest whilereducing her metaphorically to another half-acre individual, of bush to be captured. The literal of femme-jardin is an exploitative one: the meaning to womana mankeepsin useful fields in cultivated scattered locations.7 There proximity is a heavy-handed disclaimer in the"geolibertinage" story: I didn'tapproachthemlike a Caribbean lord,wellprotectedby thousandsof years of male vanity. I approached themwithout On the contrary, the withwithout warrior's and pride, bragging guile, out felineabruptness, without the ancientboorishI wenttowards nessof thepseudo-males. endthem, I went towards ones,bounding lessly mybewitching ... their towards perpetual spring
p. 97 Femme-jardin,

This seemsto betokenat leastself-consciousness, and evensometwinge of guiltat the international is distinctive in attracting moreattentallyof faceless Depestre conquests. of female tion forhis richdescriptions thanforany otherattribute of theloved organs one. For example:"It was a finevulva,muscular withits chubby, generous dimpled, savourand its fire.I was grafted into . . ." (Femme-jardin, p. 28). The zest is usually a whole basketful but devouring of Eve's apples reducesthe impactof any engaging, flavour. specific This rapid surveyof a major,though of Rene' aspectof the writings neglected, raises thanit answers. morequestions The imagery oflovewouldrepay a more Depestre withreference to the cluster of metaphors based on decoding, systematic particularly The slogan: "CamaradeEros/Fait l'amouret la revolution" in its blithe femme-jardin. a complexof theoretical masks issuesinvolving Surrealism and Marxism, and simplicity, a debatein whichthe womenwriters of Cuba and of Algeria, forexample, have might theirwordto say. Moreover, we are dealing witha writer stillenergetically productive who is currently a Parisian in thepaysde public,a greasy pole perhaps, reconquering
Cocagne?

Thispaperwas composed seminar series fortheCaribbean of theFaculty ofArts,U.W.I., a somewhat Mona. It retains tone and the nature informal provocative mildly appropriate to that occasion.

30 FOOTNOTES
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. See J. Michael Dash Literature and Ideology in Haiti 1915 - 1961, (London: Macmillan,1981) especiallyChapter6. In Black Images,Vol. 3, No. 1 (1974). "D'une jeune posie une autre," Rond Point, 12 (Dec. 1963). Joan Dayan A Rainbow for the ChristianWest (Amherst:University of Massachusetts Press, 1977). Note Jacqueline Leiner "Rene"Dpestre un Du surralisme comme moyen d'accs a l'identit'' hatienne" in Imaginaire- Langage- Identit'culturelle- Negritude Gunter (Tubingen/Paris: Jean-Michel Narr/ Place, 1980). See Bertell Oilman Social and Sexual Revolution: Essays on Marx and Reich (Boston: South End Press,1979). See E. P. Trouillot"Conditionsde rglement des problmespatrimoniaux issus du concubinage," Conjonction,No. 141 (fev. 1979) p. 117.

6. 7.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Worksby Ren" referred to in the text De'pestre Etincelles(Haiti: Imprimerie Nationale, 1945) ) Gerbe de Sang (Haiti: Imprimerie Nationale, 1946) )
' hnih in , Kraue rennnt

__ 1 Q70

(Paris: Seghers"Po'sie 51" Cahier 71) Vegetationsde clart' Traduitdu grandlarge(Paris: Seghers"Posie 52" Cahier 224) Minerainoir (Paris: Prsenceafricaine, 1957) Journal d'un animalmarin(Paris: Seghers,1965) Un arc-en-ciel pour l'occidentchrtien(Paris: Presenceafricaine, 1967) Cantata de octubre a la vida y a la muertedel CommandanteErnestoChe Guevara(Havana: Instituto del Libro, 1968) Allluia pour une femme-jardin (Ottawa: Lemac, 1973) Poete Cuba, witha prefaceby Claude Roy (Paris: P. J. Oswald, 1976) Le mt de cocagne (Paris: Gallimard,1979).