René Ménil
Encyclopedia
René Ménil was a French
surrealist writer and philosopher who lived on the island of Martinique
.
Born and raised on the island of Martinique, Ménil was one of several of the island's natives who studied in France
and returned to influence the independence movement with the ideas of Marxism
, and Surrealism
. He also began the Antillanité
movement.
In the early 1940s Ménil started a journal called Tropiques along with other notable Martinique writers such as Aimé Césaire
. The publication spoke very strongly against French colonialism in its essays. To avoid retaliation from their powerful critics, they portrayed the magazine as a journal of West Indian folklore.
A professor and writer throughout his life, in 1981 Ménil published a book of essays entitled Tracées (ISBN 978-22-2100-633-7).
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
surrealist writer and philosopher who lived on the island of Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
.
Born and raised on the island of Martinique, Ménil was one of several of the island's natives who studied in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and returned to influence the independence movement with the ideas of Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, and Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
. He also began the Antillanité
Antillanité
Antillanité is a literary and political movement developed in the 1960s that stresses the creation of a specific West Indian identity out of a multiplicity of ethnic and cultural elements.- Background :...
movement.
In the early 1940s Ménil started a journal called Tropiques along with other notable Martinique writers such as Aimé Césaire
Aimé Césaire
Aimé Fernand David Césaire was a French poet, author and politician from Martinique. He was "one of the founders of the négritude movement in Francophone literature".-Student, educator, and poet:...
. The publication spoke very strongly against French colonialism in its essays. To avoid retaliation from their powerful critics, they portrayed the magazine as a journal of West Indian folklore.
A professor and writer throughout his life, in 1981 Ménil published a book of essays entitled Tracées (ISBN 978-22-2100-633-7).