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

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

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

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

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

, Thelus Léro,

Maurice Sabas-Quitman Maurice may refer to: *Maurice (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name Places * or Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean *Maurice, Iowa, a city * Maurice, Louisiana, a village * Maurice River, a tr ...

Michel Pilotin Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

and

Auguste Thesse Auguste may refer to: People Surname * Arsène Auguste (1951–1993), Haitian footballer * Donna Auguste (born 1958), African-American businesswoman * Georges Auguste (born 1933), Haitian painter * Henri Auguste (1759–1816), Parisian gol ...

. Badly wounded early in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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-writer-stub