Le poème sera toujours la genèse du monde

Abstract

Nimrod is one of the most important poets on the African continent. He has devoted two major works to Senghor. The first is Tombeau de Léopold Sédar Senghor (Cognac, Le temps qu'il fait, 2003), a rich meditation on the poetic art and intellectual heritage bequeathed by the “Great Senegalese”. The second is an expanded reprint of Armand Guibert’s Senghor (Paris, Seghers, 2006), which reflects on “the poem as a test of power”, covering the last decades of the poet-president’s life and work (without overlooking “the drama that lies in the hyphen” between the two terms). In this interview, Nimrod rereads Senghor in today’s light, betting on his relevance to the present day. He suggests we put away certain trinkets, certain formulas, to better appreciate the present intensity of Senghor’s poem.

Keywords

• poetry
• Guibert (Armand)
• Senghor (Léopold Sédar)
• Nimrod
• Chad
• animism