Aim? C?saire is arguably the greatest Caribbean literary writer in history. Best known for his incendiary epic poem Notebook of a Return to My Native Land, C?saire reinvented black culture by conceiving 'n?gritude' as a dynamic and continuous process of self-creation.

In this essential new account of his life and work, Jane Hiddleston introduces readers to C?saire's unique poetic voice and to his role as a figurehead for intellectuals pursuing freedom and equality for black people. C?saire was deeply immersed in the political life of his native Martinique for over fifty years: as Mayor of Fort-de-France and Deputy at the French National Assembly, he called for the liberation of oppressed people at home and abroad, while celebrating black creativity and self-invention to resist a history of racism.

C?saire's extraordinary life reminds us that the much-needed revolt against oppression and subjugation can--and should--come from within the establishment, as well as without.