Dr. Nick Hughes, Associate Professor in Sustainable Resource Governance, shares Aimé Césaire’s “Notebook of a Return to My Native Land” (“Cahier d’un retour au pays natal”). First published in 1939, with revised versions in 1947 and 1956, the “Cahier” is a long-form surrealist poem, offering profound reflections on colonialism. It traverses extraordinary geographical and historical landscapes, connecting Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and the Americas across centuries. Césaire’s writing vividly captures moments like Christmas celebrations in Martinique and the plight of Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture in his cell. His prose is visceral, disturbing, and ultimately triumphant, rejecting colonial depravities and asserting political freedom with an original and explosive artistic style.