''Présence Africaine'' is a

pan-African Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement ext ...

quarterly cultural, political, and literary magazine, published in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, and founded by

Alioune Diop Alioune Diop (10 January 1910 – 2 May 1980) was a Senegalese writer and editor, founder of the intellectual journal ''Présence africaine'', and a central figure in the ''Négritude'' movement.Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (french: Quartier latin, ) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistro ...

of Paris. The journal was highly influential in the

Pan-Africanist Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement ext ...

movement, the

decolonisation Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence m ...

struggle of former

French colonies From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire stretched from a total area at its peak in 1680 to over , the second largest empire in the world at the time behind only the Spanish Empire. During the 19th and 20th centuri ...

, and the birth of the

Négritude ''Négritude'' (from French "Nègre" and "-itude" to denote a condition that can be translated as "Blackness") is a framework of critique and literary theory, developed mainly by francophone intellectuals, writers, and politicians of the African ...

movement.

Magazine

The magazine published its first issue in November 1947, founded by

Alioune Diop Alioune Diop (10 January 1910 – 2 May 1980) was a Senegalese writer and editor, founder of the intellectual journal ''Présence africaine'', and a central figure in the ''Négritude'' movement.Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

-born professor of philosophy, along with a cast of African, European, and American intellectuals, writers, and social scientists, including

Aimé Césaire Aimé Fernand David Césaire (; ; 26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was a French poet, author, and politician. He was "one of the founders of the Négritude movement in Francophone literature" and coined the word in French. He founded the Par ...

Léopold Sédar Senghor Léopold Sédar Senghor (; ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist who was the first president of Senegal (1960–80). Ideologically an African socialist, he was the major theoretician o ...

Alioune Sarr Alioune Sarr (September 1, 1908 – July 12, 2001 ) 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 ''"sul ...

, Richard Wright,

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1947). Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the Symbolism (arts), symbolist movement, to the advent o ...

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

Théodore Monod Théodore André Monod (9 April 1902 – 22 November 2000) was a French naturalist, humanist, scholar and explorer. Exploration Early in his career, Monod was made professor at the ''Muséum national d'histoire naturelle'' and founded the '' Inst ...

, Georges Balandier and

Michel Leiris Julien Michel Leiris (; 20 April 1901 in Paris – 30 September 1990 in Saint-Hilaire, Essonne) was a French surrealist writer and ethnographer. Part of the Surrealist group in Paris, Leiris became a key member of the College of Sociology with ...

. While not all authors published in the magazine were from the African diaspora, its subtitle (''Revue Culturelle du Monde Noir''/''Cultural Review of the Negro World'') makes clear that the editors saw themselves engaged in the cultural and political struggles of panafricanism. With the move by

and

to ''PA'' (from Césaire's own journal '' L'Étudiant noir''), the magazine became the pre-eminent voice of the Négritude movement. In 1956, Alioune Diop and ''Présence Africaine'' organised the 1st International

Congress of Black Writers and Artists The Congress of Black Writers and Artists ( French: ''Congrès des écrivains et artistes noirs''; originally called the Congress of Negro Writers and Artists) was a meeting of leading black intellectuals for the purpose of addressing the issues of ...

(''1er Congrès international des écrivains et artistes noirs'') in Paris, which included Aimé Césaire, Léopold Sédar Senghor,

Jacques Rabemananjara Jacques Rabemananjara (23 June 1913 – 1 April 2005) was a Malagasy politician, playwright and poet. He served as a government minister, rising to Vice President of Madagascar. Rabemananjara was said to be the most prolific writer of his negr ...

Cheikh Anta Diop Cheikh Anta Diop (29 December 1923 – 7 February 1986) was a Senegalese historian, anthropologist, physicist, and politician who studied the human race's origins and pre-colonial African culture. Diop's work is considered foundational to the th ...

, Richard Wright, Franz Fanon, and

Jean Price-Mars Jean Price-Mars (15 October 1876 – 1 March 1969) was a Haitian doctor, teacher, politician, diplomat, writer, and ethnographer.Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

designed a poster. While there have always been English-language abstracts and occasional English-language articles in the magazine, the primary language has been French since its inception. Between 1955 and January 1961, the magazine also published an English edition (also entitled ''Présence Africaine''), which ran to 60 issues. Through the leadership of Aimé Césaire, Présence Africaine was an anti-colonialist magazine as well. Their articles were a direct involvement with the anti-colonialist struggle and together, the writers and thinkers strived to denounce colonial racism through their foundational texts. Although Césaire's most famous text Discours sur le Colonialisme is constantly being republished and translated (and scholars such as Robin D.G. Kelley have added their contributions including “A Poetics of Anticolonialism,”) Césaire's original text was published as Discours sur le Colonialisme by the Présence Africaine in 1955. The essay had previously been published in 1950 by Editions Redame, and a revised version was published in Présance Africane in 1955. The works from Présence Africaine were also used in other anti-colonialist literature. For example, Frantz Fanon used excerpts from Présence Africaine in his anti-colonialist text ''Black Skin, White Masks''. He cites the work of Aimé Césaire, Michel Salomon, Abdoulaye Sadji, George Moulin, and countless other essential thinkers in order to strengthen his claims about denouncing colonial racism.

Publishing house

Editions Présence Africaine was the first imprint to publish most of the best known Francophone African writers of the 20th century, including the literature of

Mongo Beti Alexandre Biyidi Awala (30 June 1932 – 8 October 2001), known as Mongo Beti or Eza Boto, was a Cameroonian writer. Beti spent much of his life in France, studying at the Sorbonne and becoming a professor at Lycée Pierre Corneille. Life ...

Ken Bugul Ken Bugul (born 1947 in Ndoucoumane) is the pen name of Senegalese Francophone novelist Mariètou Mbaye Biléoma.'Bugul, Ken', in Simon Gikandi (ed.), ''Encyclopedia of African Literature''. Routledge; 2002. In the Wolof language, her pen name m ...

Birago Diop Birago Diop (11 December 1906 – 25 November 1989) was a Senegalese poet and storyteller whose work restored general interest in African folktales and promoted him to one of the most outstanding African francophone writers.Djibril Tamsir Niane Djibril Tamsir Niane (9 January 1932 – 8 March 2021) was a Guinean historian, playwright, and short story writer. Biography Born in Conakry, Guinea, his secondary education was in Senegal and his degree from the University of Bordeaux. He wa ...

, Williams Sassine,

Ousmane Sembène Ousmane Sembène (; 1 January 1923 or 8 January 1923 – 9 June 2007), often credited in the French style as Sembène Ousmane in articles and reference works, was a Senegalese film director, producer and writer. The ''Los Angeles Times'' consider ...

, as well as the philosophical works of

among others. Editions Présence Africaine was also the first to publish French translations of Anglophone writers such as

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. His first novel and '' magnum opus'', ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958), occupies ...

Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

Ngugi wa Thiong’o Ngugi or Ngũgĩ is a name of Kikuyu origin that may refer to: *Ngugi wa Mirii (1951–2008), Kenyan playwright *Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (born 1938), Kenyan writer *David Mwaniki Ngugi, Kenyan politician and member of the National Assembly of Kenya *Jo ...

, and the pan-Africanist leaders Kwame Nkrumah and

Julius Nyerere Julius Kambarage Nyerere (; 13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian anti-colonial activist, politician, and political theorist. He governed Tanganyika as prime minister from 1961 to 1962 and then as president from 1962 to 1964, af ...

Recent history

Alioune Diop remained publisher until his death in 1980, when his wife Christiane Yandé Diop took over. The 50th anniversary of ''Présence Africaine'' was celebrated at

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in Paris in 1997, and attended by

Daniel Maximin Daniel Maximin (born April 9, 1947) is a Guadeloupean novelist, poet, and essayist. Born in Saint-Claude, his family moved to France when he was thirteen. He studied at the Sorbonne and from 1980 to 1989 served as literary director of the jou ...

and

among others. As of the end of 2007 ''Présence Africaine'' had run to 173 issues, with its Editions Présence Africaine publishing over 400 works, 322 of which are still in print. ''

Discourse on Colonialism ''Discourse on Colonialism'' (french: Discours sur le colonialisme) is an essay by Aimé Césaire, a poet and politician from Martinique who helped found the '' négritude'' movement in Francophone literature. Césaire first published the essay i ...

'' by

, published first in 1955, remains its best-selling work. In addition, new African works are published, by novelists including Hamidou Dia,

Antoinette Tidjani Alou Antoinette Tidjani Alou is a Jamaican-Nigerien academic, film-maker and writer, whose work focuses on the constructions of Sahelian identity in written and oral literature, as well as women in Sahelian identities. She published a novel ''On m'app ...

and Dieudonné Gnammankou and historians such as Aboucrary Moussa Lam.Tidiane Dioh
Un demi-siècle de Présence africaine
''Jeune Afrique'', 12 September 2000. ''Présence Africaine''′s current publications director is Romuald Fonkoua, professor of comparative French literature at Université Marc Bloch in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

References

* Tshitenge Lubaru M. K.
"Soixante ans de Présence"
''Jeune Afrique'', n° 2448, 9 December 2007, p. 108. * Much of this article was translated from the French-language Wikipedia article :fr:Présence africaine (2008-05-23).

Bibliography

* Bennetta Jules-Rosette, ''Black Paris: The African Writer's Landscape'', Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1998. * Sarah C Dunstan, ''Race, Rights and Reform: Black Activism in the French Empire and the United States from World War I to Cold War'', New York: Cambridge University Press, 2021, pp. 207-236. * Marga Graf, "Roots of Identity: The National and Cultural Self in 'Présence Africaine'", ''Comparative Literature and Culture'', June 2001, 3(2). * Salah D. Hassan, "Inaugural Issues: the cultural politics of the early 'Présence Africaine'", ''Research in African Literatures'', 30:2, Summer 1999, pp. 194–221. * Valentin Y. Mudimbe (ed.), ''The Surreptitious Speech: "Présence Africaine" and the Politics of Otherness, 1947-1987'', Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992. * ''Léopold Sédar Senghor et la revue "Présence Africaine"'', Paris: Présence Africaine, 1996, 250 pp. (Anthology of Senghor's writings in ''PA''). * Jacques Howlett, ''Index alphabétique des auteurs et index des matières de la revue "Présence Africaine"'', Paris: Présence Africaine, 1977, 381 pp. * Micaela Fenoglio, ''"Présence africaine" entre critique et littérature: l'esprit du dialogue'', Rome: Bulzoni, 1998. * Marcella Glisenti (ed.), ''Hommage à Alioune Diop, fondateur de Présence Africaine'', Rome: Éditions des amis italiens de Présence Africaine, 1977. * Lilyan Kesteloot, ''Les Écrivains noirs de langue française: naissance d'une littérature'', Bruxelles: Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1965. * Diane T. Simard, ''Théorie et critique littéraires dans la revue "Présence africaine"'', Montréal: Université McGill, 1972 (Thèse M.A.). * 20e Anniversaire: ''Mélanges: réflexions d'hommes de culture, Présence Africaine 1947-1967'', Paris: Présence Africaine, 1969. * ''30e Anniversaire de Présence Africaine. Hommage à Alioune Diop'', Paris: Présence Africaine, 1977. * ''50e Anniversaire de Présence Africaine, 1947-1997: Colloque de Dakar, 25-27 novembre 1997'', Paris: Présence Africaine (special edition), 1999, 385 pp.

External links