Martinican literature

[3] Writers and theories originating from Martinique, such as Aimé Césaire, Paulette Nardal, Frantz Fanon and Édouard Glissant have been influential on wider Francophone literature and thought.

[1] While there is no literary tradition from this period in the conventional sense, influences from Indigenous modes of storytelling remain in the literature of Martinique.

Early writing in French originating from Martinique was written by colonial settlers from Europe, primarily in the form of descriptions of the region.

[1] This was primarily done by missionaries and priests such as Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre, who published Histoire générale des Antilles habitées par les Français from 1667 to 1671.

[3] Early black Martinican literature was written in a derivative style that attempted to assimilate with writing from Metropolitan France.

[6] In 1939, Césaire published the highly influential book-length poem, Cahier d'un retour au pays natal, which reflects on cultural identity and is regarded as one of the most important Négritude texts.

At the forefront of the study and promotion of Antillean culture and identity was Édouard Glissant, whose body of work includes poetry, essays, theater and novels.

[10] The movement was founded by Jean Bernabé, Patrick Chamoiseau and Raphäel Confiant in the 1980s and is inspired by Édouard Glissant's concepts of Antillanité and Creolization.

[9] The ideas and aesthetics of Créolité can be found in much contemporary Martinican writing, including an emphasis on oral tradition and creole language and identity.

Much scholarship related to the literature of Martinique focuses on men's contributions and both the Négritude and Créolité movements have been criticised for being patriarchal.