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 ''Légitime Défense'', co-founded in 1932 by the Martinican writers
Étienne Léro Étienne Léro (1910–1939) was a French poet from region of Martinique, "the first person of African descent to publicly identify himself as a surrealist". In 1932 he helped found a literary journal ''Légitime Défense'' with Jules Monnerot and ...
,
René Méril, and
Jules Monnerot—who would later become her husband. ''Légitime Défense'' was considered foundational to 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, and its members also advocated for
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...
revolution while condemning the French-speaking black bourgeoisie. She helped drive women's contributions to this literary movement, alongside other female writers such as
Yva Léro
Yva Léro (4 July 1912 – 25 September 2007) was an Afro-Martiniquais writer and painter. She was one of the earliest Antillean writers in Paris preceding the Négritude movement. An ardent feminist, she participated in international congresses ...
;
Paulette,
Jeanne, and Andrée Nardal; and
Suzanne Césaire
Suzanne Césaire (née Roussi; 11 August 1915 – 16 May 1966), born in Martinique, an overseas department of France, was a French writer, teacher, scholar, anti-colonial and feminist activist, and Surrealist. Her husband was the poet and politici ...
. Her brother Pierre Yoyotte was also a surrealist poet.
She is recognized as the first woman of African descent to participate in the
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 ...
movement, publishing her work in the Surrea