Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906–2001) was a poet, philosopher, and the first president of Senegal. Yohann C. Ripert is Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Stetson University.
""Demonstrating the resilience and currency of Léopold Sédar Senghor's singular genius, this important collection represents the key philosophical, poetic, and existential moments in the long life of the poet-president and pillar of the Négritude movement. The translation of these essays into English could not have come at a better time, when the challenges of democracy and sustainable development are at the center of debates in Africa.""--Manthia Diawara, author of African Film: New Forms of Aesthetics and Politics