Jacques Rabemananjara (23 June 1913 – 1 April 2005) was a

Malagasy Malagasy may refer to: *Someone or something from Madagascar *Malagasy people *Malagasy language *Malagasy Republic *Related to the culture of Madagascar See also *Madagascar (disambiguation) Madagascar is an island country located off the east ...

politician, playwright and poet. He served as a government minister, rising to

Vice President of Madagascar The vice president of Madagascar was a political position in Madagascar during the era of Malagasy Republic. References {{DEFAULTSORT:Vice President of Madagascar * Politics of Madagascar Government of Madagascar Madagascar Madagasc ...

. Rabemananjara was said to be the most prolific writer of his negritude generation after Senghor, and he had the first

négritude ''Négritude'' (from French "Nègre" and "-itude" to denote a condition that can be translated as "Blackness") is a framework of critique and literary theory, developed mainly by francophone intellectuals, writers, and politicians of the African ...

poetry published.

Early life

Rabemananjara was born in

Maroantsetra Maroantsetra , formerly Louisbourg, is a market town and domestic seaport in Analanjirofo Region, Madagascar, at the northern end of the Bay of Antongil. In 2005 it had a population of 42,529 people. History Maurice Benyovszky arrived in Maroan ...

Antongil Bay ''Helodranon' Antongila'' (Bay of Antongila), more commonly called Antongil Bay in English, is the largest bay in Madagascar. This bay is on the island's east coast, toward the northern end of the eastern coastline of the island. It is within An ...

in eastern

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

on 23 June 1913 of Betsimisarakan origin. He began his education on the island of Sainte Marie, but soon left to finish his studies at the seminary at

Antananarivo Antananarivo ( French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("Antananarivo-Mother Hill" or "An ...

, the capital of Madagascar. In 1935-36 the Madagascan authorities prohibited any further publication of a monthly journal of young people of Madagascar, which he was responsible for. The magazine ''Revue des Jeunes de Madagascar'' had 10 issues.Jacques Rabemananjara
Lehman Universit

/ref> The journal was an early example of political writing pre-dating later more well-known examples of

Albert S. Gérard Albert Stanislaus Gérard (1920-1996) was a Belgian scholar of comparative literature, specializing in African literature. His ''African Language Literatures'' was praised by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (; born James Ngugi; 5 January ...

European-language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa
p.471, accessed 21 November 2008

Writing

Despite his leadership of the journal, Rabemanajara was chosen in 1939 to attend a commemoration in Paris for the 150th anniversary of the French revolution. Having travelled to Paris he was able to not only gain entry to the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

and took courses in administration, but also to get his first collection of poetry, ''On the Steps of the Evening'', published. In Paris he met the Senagalese poet and politician

Léopold Sédar Senghor Léopold Sédar Senghor (; ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist who was the first president of Senegal (1960–80). Ideologically an African socialist, he was the major theoretician of ...

and Alioune Diop who all participated in the important African studies journal ''Presence Africaine''. The Surreptitious Speech
V. Y. Mudimbe, , accessed 21 November 2008] His early work dealt in classical alexandrian metre with the early history of Madagascar. His 1940 work ''Sur les marches du soir '' dealt with the forced exile of Queen

Ranavalona III Ranavalona III (; 22 November 1861 – 23 May 1917) was the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar. She ruled from 30 July 1883 to 28 February 1897 in a reign marked by ultimately futile efforts to resist the colonial designs of the go ...

. She had been removed by the French colonial powers in 1897. Rabemananjara published his play ''Les dieux malgaches'', the first modern Malagasy play in French, This play dealt with the pre-colonial past and with the coup that unseated King

Radama II Radama II (September 23, 1829 – May 12, 1863 'contested'' was the son and heir of Queen Ranavalona I and ruled from 1861 to 1863 over the Kingdom of Madagascar, which controlled virtually the entire island. Radama's rule, although brief, ...

in 1863.

Politics

After the war he also met Raset Ravoahangy who was a partner with Rabemananjara in the creation of the MDRM ( Democratic Movement for the Renovation of Madagascar). He was elected to represent the Tamatave region in 1946 as the third member of the National Assembly from Madagascar. As a journalist at this time he interviewed

Ho Chi Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as (' Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as P ...

including his association with the Malagasy politician

Jean Ralaimongo Jean Ralaimongo (1885–1944) was a teacher who came to prominence after campaigning to get the French government to give citizenship to the people of Madagascar. Ralaimongo wanted Madagascar to become a French département and therefore part ...

. He was suspected of being involved in the instigation of the 1947

Malagasy Uprising The Malagasy Uprising (french: Insurrection malgache; mg, Tolom-bahoaka tamin' ny 1947) was a Malagasy nationalist rebellion against French colonial rule in Madagascar, lasting from March 1947 to February 1949. Starting in late 1945, Madagascar ...

, despite the fact that he had urged the rioters to be calm. He was arrested, and sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour. During his captivity he wrote the poems ''Antsa'', ''Lamba'' and ''Antidote''. Rabemanajara was eventually pardoned in 1956. Rabemananjara's freedom allowed him to attend the first International

Congress of Black Writers and Artists The Congress of Black Writers and Artists (French: ''Congrès des écrivains et artistes noirs''; originally called the Congress of Negro Writers and Artists) was a meeting of leading black intellectuals for the purpose of addressing the issues o ...

in Paris. He was one of the main speakers and earned a place at the top table of this important conference which was funded by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

and was still celebrated 50 years later.50th anniversary of the first International Congress of Black Writers and Artists
, Harvard.edu, accessed 24 November 2008 He was exiled in France until Madagascar's independence in 1960. The new government under President

Philibert Tsiranana Philibert Tsiranana (18 October 1912 – 16 April 1978) was a Malagasy politician and leader, who served as the first President of Madagascar from 1959 to 1972. During the twelve years of his administration, the Republic of Madagascar expe ...

asked him to join a number of ministries and take the post of Vice President.

Later years

Rabemanajara was again exiled after the 1972 revolution, but this was his choice and he was not to return for 20 years. He died in France on 1 April 2005.

Major works

Poetry

*Sur les marches du soir. Gap: Ophrys, 1940. *Rites millénaires. Paris: Seghers, 1955. *Antsa. Paris: Présence Africaine, 1956. *Lamba. Paris: Présence Africaine, 1956. *Antidote. Paris: Présence Africaine, 1961. *Les ordalies, sonnets d'outre-temps. Paris: Présence Africaine, 1972. *Oeuvres complètes, poésie. Paris: Présence Africaine, 1978. *Thrènes d'avant l'aurore: Madagascar. Paris: Présence Africaine, 1985. *Rien qu'encens et filigrane. Paris: Présence Africaine, 1987.

Essays

*Témoignage malgache et nationalisme. Paris: Présence Africaine, 1956. *Nationalisme et problèmes malgaches. Paris: Présence Africaine, 1958.

Plays

*Les dieux malgaches. Gap: Ophrys, 1947. *Agape des dieux Tritiva: Une tragédie. Paris: Présence Africaine, 1962. *Les boutriers de l'aurore. Paris: Présence Africaine, 1957.

Prizes

*1988:

Grand prix de la francophonie The Grand Prix de la francophonie is presented annually by the Académie française at the initiative of the Canadian Government to a personality who contributes to the development of the French language throughout the world. Laureates * 1986: ...

*1997: Salon de la Plume Noire (Paris, 10-12 octobre), consacré au poète Jacques Rabemananjara *Member of "l'Academie Nationale des Arts, des Lettres et des Sciences de Madagascar"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabemanajara, Jacques 1913 births 2005 deaths People from Analanjirofo Malagasy politicians Foreign Ministers of Madagascar Vice presidents of Madagascar Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Malagasy male poets Malagasy dramatists and playwrights Malagasy essayists 20th-century Malagasy poets 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century essayists Malagasy male writers 20th-century male writers Malagasy prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by France Malagasy exiles French-language writers from Madagascar