"Notebook of a return to the native land" by Aimé Césaire

I was not familiar with Aime Cesaire before reading this book, but I was entranced with the essays and expanded by the ideas contained within this notebook.

Aime Cesaire, from the Carribean island of Martinique, has written an incredibly powerful poem that focuses on the sufferings of Black people under colonialism. The poem, surrealist in nature at times, features rich language and detailed poetic pictures of the inequalities, hard labor, and abuse that the Black people endured under the oppression of colonialist rule. But Cesaire also infuses the poem, in its final passages, with hope for a brighter day in the struggle against racism where the race will be "standing and free." Cesaire was co-creator (with Leopold Senghor) of the concept of Negritude, a literary and cultural movement that emphasized pride in African heritage and culture. His poem is one of the finest examples of 20th century poetry and it demands close reading to unveil its many sparkling diamonds. It is a literary minefield that will enrich all who attend to its beauty and truth.

Book review by Liza S.

 

Transnational Intercultural Reading Day

The 5th of June, at the Central Library of Narva, Estonia, it took place the Transnational Reading Day on Interculture planned by the Read-Over partnership. The organization and coordination was in the hands of the Narva Central Libray, namely - in particular - Larisa Sheparenko and Stiina Koit.

Conference had 58 registered participants. That included the project partners and guests from Lithuania (Šiauliai) and Russia (Ivangorod), but did not include Russian guests via Skype.
The event started with welcoming words from Maritsa Ort, Narva Central Library director. Followed by the introduction of READ-OVER project by Cristina Miliacca from Tecnopra s.a.s..
The speakers focused in different issues and opportunities for immigrants both in Narva and as a whole. Representatives of Narva Central Library (Tatjana and Stiina) spoke of different methods they use in working with books and reading for adults. Guest speaker from Lithuania spoke of their experiences in working with international exchange students and guests from Russia spoke (via Skype) about working with children of immigrants and the issues of adapting them into the cities social-cultural environment.
The conference ended with an evaluation workshop provided by Élan Interculturel.