Disappearing Acts: Suzanne Césaire

Suzanne Roussi Césaire (1915-1966) was a Martinican writer whose essays criticized colonialism, civilization, and Caribbean identity. She helped found, write, edit, and publish Tropiques, a literary journal that gave voice to the Caribbean experience under colonialism. Although she was a significant contributor to Caribbean literature and Afro-surrealism, much of her efforts are attributed to her husband or other male writers. 

For Further Reading:

• In Search of the Missing Mother:
• Why do Women Artists Disappear? 
• Acts of Camouflage: On Suzanne Roussi Césaire

Historically, women have been told to make themselves smaller, to diminish themselves. Some have used that idea to their advantage, disappearing into new identities. For others, a disappearance was the end to their stories, but the beginning of a new chapter in their legacies. This month we’re telling the stories of these women: we’re talking about disappearing acts.

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Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Womanica. Historically, women have been told to make themselves smaller,
to diminish themselves. Some have used that idea to their advantage,
disappearing into new identities. For others, a disappearance was the
end to their stories, but the beginning of a new

(00:22):
chapter of their legacies. This month, we're telling the stories
of these women. We're talking about disappearing acts. Today we're
talking about a woman who toes the line between the
disappeared and the forgotten. A woman who allegedly wrote her
whole life, and yet little of her intellectual contributions around
Caribbean literature remained today. Did she choose to disappear or

(00:45):
was she erased? Today we're focusing on Suzanne Rusie Cesaire,
whether she likes it or not. Suzanne Russi was born
in nineteen fifteen in Martinique. It's a small Caribbean island
smothered in a dense jungle with a prominent volcano on

(01:07):
its north shore. Martinique was colonized by the French in
sixteen thirty five. The Martinique Suzanne was raised in was
still heavily influenced by Eurocentric ideals, and the local economy
benefited mainland France over the locals. Suzanne, the daughter of
a teacher, still got a good education. In nineteen thirty three,

(01:28):
she sailed across the Atlantic and arrived in France to
study literature. At first she studied in Toulouse and then
a year later made her way to Paris. While in Paris,
Suzanne quickly made friends with other writers and thinkers of
African descent who had also been raised under French colonial rule.

(01:49):
They hosted salons, danced at balls, and attended Dukellington concerts.
By then, the waves of the Harlem Renaissance made their
way over the Atlantic and were hitting the shores of France,
and Suzanne's new circle began a movement of their own.
Suzanne joined the editorial staff of the journal Le Tudion Nois.

(02:10):
There she met Iime Cesaire. He was a politically minded
writer and poet also for Martinique and had created the magazine.
He would also shortly become Suzanne's husband. It was at
the journal that the negratude movement was solidified into writing.
The Negritude movement was a poetic revolt that used writing,

(02:31):
philosophy and poetry to critique colonialism and find a shared
Black identity. Letudiant Nois became the journal of the Negritude movement.
In nineteen thirty seven, Suzanne and II Me married in Paris.
A year later they returned to Martinique with their first born, Ina.

(02:53):
Then in nineteen forty one, Iimeh and Suzanne did some
disrupting of their own. Now with three children, the couple
gave birth to another creation, Tropique. Tropique was a literary
journal that featured surrealist stories and poetry, as well as
anti colonial essays and articles that criticized the French government

(03:14):
and started to redefine Martiniquan and Caribbean identity. Suzanne's creative
output became explosive and overflowed like the island's volcano. She
produced major essays weaving together thoughts on colonialism, assimilation, black identity,
and surrealism. Her writing chiseled away at French influences in
order to uncover true Martiniquan identity. She emphasized the Caribbean's

(03:39):
multi ethnic and multinational composition. Its identity, she thought lay
in its multitude of cultures rather than in one single
entity or worse, in attempting to assimilate to colonial standards.
When she wasn't writing, she was editing other writers pieces
and had a heavy hand in the editorial prom of

(04:00):
every publication. She also took on the daunting task of
going to the Information service. In order to have each
publication approved, it had to go through a censorship check.
This was a tricky task given that the magazine's writings
directly challenged French influence and during World War II Vicia's censors.

(04:24):
So the sesare built up the magazine's surrealist and abstract
tones to make it harder for censors to read between
the lines. Tropique was a huge success in Martinique and
the Caribbean at large. It laid the foundation for new
Martinique in literature, and Suzanne's writings specifically were foundational for
Afro surrealism. Then, in nineteen forty four, Suzanne's writing began

(04:50):
to wind down. She accepted a teaching position in Port
of Prince Haiti I May began to undertake a prominent
political career. Within a year, the Saesars decided to end Tropique.
The Saesares published fourteen issues of Tropek from nineteen forty
one to nineteen forty five. In them, Suzanne wrote seven

(05:11):
intellectually stimulating essays. In the final issue of the paper,
she published her most renowned essay, The Great Camouflage, which
was the last article on the journal's final word. Her
writing career ended in tandem with the magazine. Maybe. Raising
six children on top of her teaching career and her
husband's political achievements left little room for her own writing.

(05:35):
Her eldest daughter, Ena, later remembered that her mother would
often say to her, yours will be the first generation
of women who choose. But for whatever reason, Suzanne did
put down the pen. There are letters of her correspondence
with her students, but her seven essays are the main
evidence left that demonstrate her thoughts and talent. By nineteen

(05:57):
forty six, the Saesars moved back to Paris as i
May became deputy to the French National Assembly for Martinique.
For the next seventeen years, Suzanne lived in Paris. In
nineteen sixty three, she and i May separated. During that time,
she did write a play that was never published, but
she died three years later from cancer at the age

(06:20):
of fifty one. In nineteen seventy eight, the collective Works
of Tropeaque was published, and Suzanne was not credited as
a leading writer, editor, or publisher. The credit mostly went
to her husband and other male contributors. To this day,
Tripek is a foundational resource for Caribbean writing and surrealism literature.

(06:42):
Suzanne herself, intentionally or not, stepped into the dense tangle
of Caribbean literature and vanished. All month we're talking about
disappearing acts. For more information, find us on Facebook and
Instagram at Wamanica Podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplick, my
favorite sister and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow