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 the but of Ofcourse newartcannot placethestruggle in of But theproletariat thecentre its attention. the to ploughof the new art is not limited numbered it theentire On thecontrary, must field strips. plough in all directions. - Leon Trotsky . . . there was no danger thatmyblade woulddie of starvation . .) the fertile curvesof Parispromised (. me an infinity newlandsto plough. of - RenDe'pestre to the into It is myintention explore topicof RenDpestre love-poet, as taking account therecent where This author so farattracted has more theyseemrelevant. proseworks than critics anti-imperialist as troubadour, as his noticefrom despite prolific outputof love-poetry. his to I shallbeginby moving trying put together chronologically through career, has from Haitito Cuba the which shifted of a production thesomewhat scattered pieces Parisand evenPeking. via longwayround, Moscow, thismoregeneral I on background, will tryto focusbriefly one or two Against thepotential conflict between issues;especiallyDepestre's"pagan"sensuality, specific and the anarchistic forceof love, and the vulnerability a of revolutionary discipline however to criticism from feminist point. a view machismo, revolutionary, the"Enfant terrible" Early poems: See mehere poet adolescent a of and chasing vastdream liberty love Etincelles, 2 p. she openedherthighs thatI could celebrate so with thefresh wordsof mysixteen of yearstheglory her sex Allluia pourune femme-jardin, p. 68

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of in two Dpestre'sfirst collections poemsappeared Haiti: Etincelles ("Sparks") in 1945, and Gerbe de Sang ("Spray of Blood") the next year.These poems span a for formative and in of intellectuals. period Dpestre hisfriends theLa Ruchegroup young echo a raremoment on Surrealist rhetoric Revolution yearsafter) was when They (20 taken facevalueandachieved impact realevents. an exuberant at an In on to response the visitof Andr Breton in 1945,they late of calledtheyouth Haitito revolt setin train and thestrikes demonstrations and which Lescot. l It wasa brief moment toppledPresident of triumph, followed the departure De'pestre Jacques of and Alexis however, by Stephen to Parisin order structure soft their Marxism. to The adolescent loverof Etincelles the but blurred expresses unbounded very aspirationsof youth:ONE LOVE whichembraces love of mankind of woman, lustfor and a freedom joy, "unlimited and as honeymoons" one of theaimsof thestruggle 27). (p. with Amourpermuttes avenir/espoir/esprance/libert rvolutionnaire. and pit Where a partner she "chreenfant" arrested sweetsixat exists, is thebrownskinned magically teen (a sister Rimbaud's to childprincesses Breton's femme-enfant Arcane17 and of (1944)). is The secondcollection already flesh. and tougher closerto incarnated Againthe is of stress on a visionof a newcreation, from forms repression, all free socialor moral. is of A poemlike "Libration" typical thisupsurge vitalenergy, of celebratconfidently the of sex, the tributes younggirls ing successful (bringing rebelssoup,withkissesfor in In to the solidarity overthrow elite(the 100 families). these onions)and rich a fraternal who typically seducerof Etincelles, met with poems,the ardentfirst personsingular has out, as in "La nouvelle indifference, been replacedby a confident plural,setting is more to a a matured of Creation," repopulate newEden.There altogetherslightly range one tracethe"fulgurations" hisSurrealist of mood and method here,though can clearly mentors. Thisearlyperiodis thusmarked thepromoting poeticform a myth self in of of by as youthful subversive precocious and A the poeticgenius. debt to Rimbaud, majorcult heroof earlySurrealism freely is The a bourgeois order acknowledged. pose of subverting the offers (the maskofnaivety, by a charmed manypoeticrewards powerof innocence Dpestrealso picksup the "Bad blood" stance;thebarbarian, enthusiasms). engaging or who civilisation. European "nigger" criminal threatens KeithWarner reminds in "Rene'Dpestre, notso terrible the "enfant us, terrible",2 thatmanyf Dpestre's concerns hereareshared ofa blackprotest tradition welltopics established thisdatein the Americas. has importance However,themyth by certainly forDpestre's own conception himself. be hailed by contemporaries poems of To for "written school desks,"serveas propagandist-in-chiefa Surrealist on for Revolution whichactually theseare likely prove to 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 in violent blustering against sicksociety, poetryof thistime,though Dpestre's comesintoitsownin Arcblackphalluswhich offers onlya fewhintsof the rampagous

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

Journald'un animal marin,p. 83

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

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

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de Onlyone piece exampleof good intentions. Vgtations clart is a dismaying the homageto Stalin:"I singof a and itemslike has been resurrected subsequently, man in fullbloom . . ." have been quietlylaid to rest.Thereis muchhereof theallwithbasic anaphoric cause of the moment, purposeyardageunrolledfortheworthy to . . ./And thee . . ." or as in the structures thetype: "Hail to thee . . ./Hailto thee of noir in miners for lament theslainNigerian reprinted Mnerai (p. 26): ' Miners strike . . . on . miners . . Blackminers . . . at the The choice of topicssuggests Dpestre thistimehad becomefullyand firmly to and to committed hislocal cell of theCommunist Party, was responding thedemand andpamphlets. to verse setitssealon rallies, and forinspiring accessible meetings protest canonofholymenandidentiwith of Secularexamples psalmandbenediction, a parallel modes. cal litanical has in "Poem of myhomeland chains," a core of subtitled The secondnotebook, to to an sinceit chronicles abortive morestrongly attempt return experience, personal of the "party further of Haitiin thecompany his Czechwife.Among congress" poems he type,whichnow rangewidelyfromKorea and Pekingto South America, places of of denunciation thecorrupt and of memories home and family, an effective poem sees the bloodyhandsof the gringo Haiti. Everywhere Presidents Dpestre oppressing a for reserved the closing is behinddictatorships. poems,where more Lyricism mainly a from negative viewof too the visionof a new dawnin theEast rescues reader hopeful Dito the In by inspired thewhite-skinned imagery globaloppression. addition, luminous of miniature herhomea with stylised of setsherlikean iconat thecentre thecollection, of the land,where"the policego sidebysidewith songs thepeople"andstateelectricity du all has dispelled shadows large, 34). p. (Traduit grand intoa morerelaxed had settled noirwas published, Dpestre By thetimeMinerai committed piecesand more strongly manner, bringing together image-making, enjoying This is the periodof his debatewithCsaire, intimate poems of love and childhood. black of with of the he where challenges essentialism Negritude, itsassumption universal his Marxism orients choice. traits.At each cross-roads, values and stylistic Dpestre's tone at distaste Dpestre's morefrom Csaire's sycophantic towards acerbity mayspring of with frustration thehardline his and indeedfrom own increasing orthodoxy Aragon, to letter Thorezdatesfrom1956). Though Communist the French remaining Party (his assimilated and Aragon of with rather (Dito/Edith dutifully derivative, thelessons Eluard withthe short noirshowsa new ability to cast as counterpart Aragon's Eisa), Minerai of sarcasm thetitle the off andcarries neatly inventive anecdotal poem. piece, as We mightalmosthave believedthat in Paris Dpestreacceptedmonogamy, of texts, if subsequent poems.However, Engelsadvocates, we onlyhad theevidence these de "Mmoires goliberlike and thehintsof friends ClaudeRoy,roundout thepicture. with student is fantasy crossed got bawdy tinage" an odd piece. It readsas ifa cheerfully boaststudent it showsa medical as tale. a moralanti-colonial Looselyframed memoirs, as as of that ing of his "geolibertinage", is thelaying as manygirls possiblefrom many of to as is presented a response thefeeling partsof theglobeas possible.Thisenterprise civilisawith aboutby disillusionment European and (Western) alienation disgust brought

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

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

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It d'un animalMarin. contains for I mustconfessthatI havea weakness Journal is the while charm, through collection a sense bubbling lyrics many unpretentious ofgreat forth dawn," the in ofjoyfulrevelation, delighting "the Cubanhandsthathavebrought Noticeforexample the on centred the Cubanwomanhe was to marry. and increasingly to dedicated Nelly, of richstately and, rhythm "Le temps brle"("Timeis burning") qui which flew like dress like trouvailles "yurgreen "thighs tractors", amongtheinevitable linenimageof time she saw me . . .(p. 50), and the bleaching away fromyou/every "Gammes". translation and of is Arc-en-ciel the onlyworkby Depestre which a fullEnglish muchdetailas moreinaccessible it to so edition critical exists,4 I do notintend treat in as chants a dramatised for structured texts.In an intricately provides sequence,De'pestre to the vaudou ceremony, spirits wage the black mobilising loas and theirattendant a purealso implies The Yankeeimperialism. rainbow transcending image against struggle the union.As elsewhere poet makesa pointof the in ly racialdichotomy a prismatic attitude sex,and itsharmonious to Christian the between repressive contrast incorporaof a white focusis the "all-American" tion into vaudou belief.The dramatic family H bomband the and Alabamajudge,who is fortified "Christ the Ku-klux-klan/The by the And the Statueof Liberty 18), buthas no defence electric against vaudou chair/ (p. to of of sendsa number the virilefigures the vaudoupantheon De'pestre poet/priest. The extraare which poetically with thejudge'swomenfolk, results humble very exciting. richness vaudou givesthisworka specialplace in Dpestre's of imaginative ordinary lost their issuesof the 1960s havealready the eventhough political immediacy. oeuvre, to novelLe matde cocagne(1979) is a political parable, returning the De'pestre's to a in "homeland chains."It deals with publiccompetition climb central woundof the HenriPostei, of mulatto thegreasy opponent the regime, pole, forwhicha middle-aged the contestcreatesa symbolic and his recovers will-power virility. trivial, Apparently are focusin whicha people "zombified" longyearsof brutal oppression, shownan by of to reachthe summit thisphallic Postel'sprotracted revolt. poteau struggle exemplary detail.He needs all the help of vaudou ritesand a loving mitanis tracedin gruelling and his to femme-jardin gather strength ardour.This workis more of an extended novelsof beside most Latin American and appears somewhat nouvelle, lightweight to in thedailylifeandloveofhispeopletends The poet'snostalgic pleasure dictatorship. the of arenain thecentre "Port-au-Roi" author In thisfictional bluntthe satirical edge. the thanpolitical, morepersonal is which perhaps enactsa vicarious despite easy triumph has the to of thereferences theDuvalier However, work a very appealing regime. decoding of evidence the and in of exuberance texture, particularly thevaudouscenes, addsfurther on writing: theone handthe imaginative Dpestre's present throughout key dichotomy on to zombies,humanbeingsreducedby oppression a passivehalf-life, the otherthe thanviewing to his right lifeand love. Rather of theindividual intense exerting vitality the continues directool as thevaudoureligion a reactionary of socialcontrol, Dpestre on its and of Arc-en-ciel, enlisting creative tionof his Che Guevara energies the by psalm, of the to sideof Revolution combat forces deathand destruction. the somewhat the Pote Cuba, containsthreesections, first autobiographical, of in pursuit revolutionthelastmainly to seconda "Gospelaccording St. Eros," poems

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The section contains somegoodthings, theartfully like ballad arystatements. first simple The secondallowsSt. Erosto preside d'adolescence." "Souvenir overa further selection of occasional whichcelebrate joys of theflesh a world the in too love-poems, others plus : fullofmisery Softis thesilkat themostvitalspotofthefemale form Sweettoo mywords sing to With candour respect . . and . I havealways saidyesto woman Yes yesto herglory to hergreat and warmth being of (pp. 99 - 100) A theme touched hereis thecommercializationsex within general on of the of corruption economies. The itemsof "Poesieet rvolution" usually are to concerned comcapitalist memorate Gandhito Angela Davis.It includes longmeditation a peopleand places,from on Lenin,attempting assesshis complexdestiny, to fulsome praise, not glossing in but over the trialsand the purges. This wholecollection has its weak moments, still but vibrates a wide-eyed with relish lifeandlove. for A few more generalpointsmay be made after this lengthy excursion through career. shouldhavebeen said to showthatDe'pestre exultsin a conDe'pestre's Enough to of of a sciously paganapproach love. His celebration the delights theflesh recognizes in physicalsatisfaction. "The tasteof earthly is Tightness happiness my only season" drawson needsas basicas breadandpurewater, milk noir,p. 36). His imagery (Mineral and honey;his womenare landscape, and flower, lovers sun his bathesacramentally in " sums this river sea. Thestressed or idea of natural a "femme-jardin expression bloom, up of fertility growth. and to Edenbefore Fall,andhavenever the been refuge Theybelong to catechism. Wecan see thecontribution Surrealism thenotionof the sovereign of to of rights as of self.5RroseSelavy(Eros c'est la vie/is love, of desire thecatalyst a liberated life) libertine influential. punnedDesnos and Duchamp,and Aragon's earlyproseis clearly Surrealism also theatrically was anti-clerical. caststhe Church a as Dpestrerepeatedly force. The Rosnastory like an archetypal is withthesickfrustrations repressive fantasy of thepriest against "natural" set the unionof theyoung the of coupleunder protection theloas. The castrating vowsof chastity rebound the It be against Father. might rememberedthattherewas a particularly polarity clear between CatholicChurch and vaudou In formative of during Depestre's years. the"Anti-superstition" campaign 1941,President Lescot and the Catholichierarchy the Roumain was activein persecuted folkreligion. the campaign, it forms subjectof a majornovelby De'pestre's the and friend, opposing littleadjustment projectthe conflict to the to on StephenAlexis.It requires Jacques and it of UnitedStatesmilitarism linking to "Alabama"setting Arc-en-ciel, discredit by The lustyvaudou gods can then rescuethe Southernbelles from sexual repression. morbid puritanism. For theearlySurrealists there was littlecontradiction between and revolupoetry a sincetheyenvisaged renewal men'sminds, practical in not Liberatsocialchange. tion, theimagination a project whichcould contain mostforms artistic erotic of was and ing In is strain blending pursuit in little the earlyworkthere similarly expression. Dpestre's love and the rhetoric action.Love figures the onslaught the old of of liberated in on

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

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

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

Thispaperwas composed theCaribbean seminar series theFaculty Arts,U.W.I., for of of a Mona. It retains somewhat toneand themildly nature informal provocative 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 Massachusetts of 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 problmespatrimoniaux des issus du concubinage," Conjonction,No. 141 (fev. 1979) p. 117.

6. 7.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Worksby Ren" referred in the text to 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).