Étienne Léro (1910–1939) was a French poet from region of

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

, "the first person of African descent to publicly identify himself as a

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

". In 1932 he helped found a literary journal ''Légitime Défense'' with

Jules Monnerot Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer * Jules Abadie (1876–19 ...

and René Méril. Other people involved in '' Légitime Défense'' include Pierre Yoyotte,

Simone Yoyotte Simone Yoyotte ( – 1933), also known as Symone Monnerot, was a Martinican poet and intellectual. Born in Martinique, she settled in Paris, where she joined the literary scene. She was the only woman to participate in the literary journal ''Légi ...

, Thelus Léro, Maurice Sabas-Quitman, Michel Pilotin and Auguste Thesse. Badly wounded early in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Léro died in a French military hospital.

References

1910 births 1939 deaths Martiniquais poets Surrealist poets Martiniquais writers French military personnel killed in World War II {{Martinique-bio-stub