Léopold Sédar Senghor was a Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist who, for two decades, served as the first president of Senegal (1960–80). Ideologically an African socialist, he was the major theoretician of Négritude. Senghor was also the founder of the Senegalese Democratic Bloc party.
Négritude is a framework of critique and literary theory, developed mainly by francophone intellectuals, writers, and politicians of the African diaspora during the 1930s, aimed at raising and cultivating "Black consciousness" across Africa and its diaspora. Négritude was founded by Martinican poet Aimé Césaire, Léopold Sédar Senghor, and Léon Damas of French Guiana. Négritude intellectuals disavowed colonialism, and argued for the importance of a Pan-African sense of being among people of African descent worldwide. The intellectuals employed Marxist political philosophy, in the Black radical tradition. The writers drew heavily on a surrealist literary style, and some say they were also influenced somewhat by the Surrealist stylistics, and in their work often explored the experience of diasporic being, asserting ones' self and identity, and ideas of home, home-going and belonging.
Mamadou Dia was a Senegalese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Senegal from 1957 until 1962, when he was forced to resign and was subsequently imprisoned amidst allegations that he was planning to stage a military coup to overthrow President Léopold Sédar Senghor.
Marcel Raymond was a Swiss literary critic who specialized in French literature. He is generally grouped with the so-called "Geneva School".
Serge Delaive is a poet and novelist writing in the French language. His first novel, Café Europa, made a strong impression on critics. Additionally, his photographs have been featured in exhibitions in Liège (CP-CR), Herstal, Amay and Paris, Asnières and Padova.
Lamine Diakhate was an author, poet and literary critic of the négritude school and has served his country as a politician and diplomat.
Senegalese wrestling is a type of folk wrestling traditionally performed by the Serer people and now a national sport in Senegal and parts of The Gambia, and is part of a larger West African form of traditional wrestling. The Senegalese form traditionally allows blows with the hands (frappe), the only one of the West African traditions to do so. As a larger confederation and championship around Lutte Traditionnelle has developed since the 1990s, Senegalese fighters now practice both forms, called officially Lutte Traditionnelle sans frappe and Lutte Traditionnelle avec frappe for the striking version.
Linda Maria Baros is a French-language poet, translator and literary critic, one of the most powerful new voices on today's poetry scene . She lives in Paris, France.
The Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire is a literary prize presented every year by the ADELF, the Association of French Language Writers for a French original text from Sub-Saharan Africa. It was originally endowed with 2,000 french francs.
Liliane Wouters was a Belgian poet, playwright, translator, anthologist and essayist.
The prix Guillaume Apollinaire is a French poetry prize first awarded in 1941. It was named in honour of French writer Guillaume Apollinaire. It annually recognizes a collection of poems for its originality and modernity.
Lambert Schlechter is a Luxembourg author who has published some 30 books written in French, most of them published in France and two written in German published in Luxembourg. His work includes poetry, novels, short stories and essays. A great number of contributions to newspapers, magazines and anthologies in different countries. Since 2006 he is working on a greater prose project under the general title "Le Murmure du monde": a collection of literary, philosophical and autobiographical fragments; so far seven volumes have been published, VIII, IX and X are in preparation.
Alioune Sarr was a Senegalese historian, author and politician whose family gained prominence in the Serer precolonial Kingdom of Sine and Saloum around the 14th century. They also made up the "sulbalƃe" class of Futa Toro. Sarr was born at Foundiougne. His father was a former Chief of Foundiougne, Gandoune, former head of the constituency of Ndiaye-Ndiaye and former Prime Minister of Diognick in Senegal. Although Sarr was a prominent politician like his father during the colonial era, he is best known as a historian and author especially after his famous work Histoire du Sine-Saloum which was officially published in 1949 and peer reviewed by historians.
Aqiil Gopee is a Mauritian writer and poet.
Jean-Paul Daoust is a Canadian poet. He won the Governor General's Award for French-language poetry at the 1990 Governor General's Awards for Les Cendres bleues.
Denise Desautels is a québécoise poet and writer.
Tahar Bekri is a Paris-based Tunisian poet and literary critic.
Charles Carrère was a French-Senegalese poet who specialized in Francophone Africa.
