The Collected Poetry

Leopold Sedar Senghor was not only president of the Republic of Senegal from 1960 to 1981, he is also one of Africa's most famous poets. A co-founder of the Negritude cultural movement, he is recognized by many as one of the most significant figures in African literature. This is a bilingual edition of Senghor's complete poems. His poetry, alive with sensual imagery, contrasts the lushness and wonder of Africa's past with the alienation and loss associated with assimilation into European culture. Translator Melvin Dixon places Senghor's writing in historical perspective by relating it to both his political involvement and his intellectual development.