Golden Wreath of Struga Poetry Evenings
1 appearances
-
Edition 10 (1975) Winner
Léopold Sédar Senghor
レオポール・セダール・サンゴール
Leopold Sédar Senghor
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1906-10-09 （Joal, French West Africa (present-day Senegal)）
- Died
- 2001-12-20 （Verson, France） age 95
- Nationality
- Senegalese
- Languages
- French, Wolof
- Religion
- Roman Catholicism Baptized in 1906
- Residence History
- Dakar, Senegal → Paris, France → Verson, Normandy, France
Career
- Occupations
- politician, poet, cultural theorist, academic, educator
- Active Years
- 1928-2001
- Affiliations
- Socialist Party of Senegal, Senegalese Democratic Bloc (Bloc démocratique sénégalais), Académie française (elected member)
- Memberships
- Académie française, Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques, Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste, Royal Academy of Morocco
- Influenced By
- Aimé Césaire, Léon Damas, Langston Hughes
- Influenced
- The Négritude movement and later francophone African intellectuals, Senegalese poets, politicians and cultural theorists
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Paris (Sorbonne) | — | French grammar | Agrégation | 1928–1935 | France |
University of Paris (Sorbonne)
French grammar
Degree:
Agrégation
Period:
1928–1935
Year of Graduation:
1935
Country:
France
Studied in France and obtained the agrégation; later served as a university professor.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Member of the Académie française | — | — | Académie française | 選出 |
| 1978 | Prix mondial Cino Del Duca | — | — | Prix mondial Cino Del Duca | 受賞 |
| 1985 | International Nonino Prize | — | — | International Nonino | 受賞 |
| 1994 | African Studies Association Lifetime Achievement Award | — | — | African Studies Association | 受賞（論争あり） |
| — | Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour | — | — | French Republic | 叙勲 |
Member of the Académie française
1983
Organization:
Académie française
Result:
選出
Prix mondial Cino Del Duca
1978
Organization:
Prix mondial Cino Del Duca
Result:
受賞
International Nonino Prize
1985
Organization:
International Nonino
Result:
受賞
African Studies Association Lifetime Achievement Award
1994
Organization:
African Studies Association
Result:
受賞（論争あり）
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
Organization:
French Republic
Result:
叙勲
Awards & Nominations
-
Edition 50 (1996) Winner
Works
Major Works
Poèmes
1964 PoetryA major collection of poems addressing memory, African identity and a dialogue between African particularity and universality.
African identitymemorydialogue with colonialism
Nocturnes
1961 PoetryA poetry collection themed on night, using musical rhythms and images to express African spirit and personal emotion.
nightspiritualitypersonal and collective feeling
Translations
- English translation by Clive Wake & John O. Reed
Anthologie de la nouvelle poésie nègre et malgache
1948 Anthology / PoetryAn anthology of francophone poetry notable for Jean-Paul Sartre's introduction ('Orphée Noir').
NégritudeFrancophonie
Liberté series
1964 Speeches and essaysA series compiling speeches, essays and prefaces that summarize his political and cultural views.
political thoughtcultural dialogueNégritude
Bibliography
- Prière aux masques
- Chants d'ombre
- Hosties noires
- La Belle Histoire de Leuk-le-Lièvre
- Éthiopiques
- Nocturnes
- Poèmes
- Lettres d'hivernage
- Élégies majeures
- La Poésie de l'action
- Ce que je crois
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- musical, song-like rhythmic poetrysymbolic and image-driven expressionessayistic prose blending thought and feeling
- Recurring Motifs
- Africanness (Négritude)homeland and landscapememory and traditiondialogue between cultures
Legacy
Senghor left a major legacy as a poet, thinker and statesman in 20th-century Africa. As a theoretician of Négritude he influenced literature and cultural policy, and as Senegal's first president he shaped nation-building. He has been criticized for authoritarian measures, but his cultural legacy and international recognition remain substantial.
Academic Societies
- Académie française
- Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques
Archives
- Presidential archives and collections in Dakar
In Popular Culture
- Dakar International Airport renamed Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in 1996
- Commemorative renamings and postage stamps for his centenary
Quotes
-
When I'm dead, my friends, place me below Shadowy Joal.
Source: Poem (epitaph) (1935) -
In Africa, when children have grown up, they leave their parents' hut, and build a hut of their own by its side. Believe me, we don't want to leave the French compound. We have grown up in it, and it is good to be alive in it.
Source: Speech (1957) (1957)
Trivia
- First African elected to the Académie française.
- One of the authors of Senegal's national anthem.
- Was taken prisoner in WWII and wrote poetry while interned.
- Dakar airport and other landmarks have been named after him.