I would like to express my gratitude to several granting agencies that made it possible for me to finish this book: the American Council of Learned Societies and the National Endowment for the Humanities jointly accorded me an ACLS/SSRC/NEH International and Area Studies Fellowship that released me from teaching during the academic year 2011–2012; the International Center for Writing and Translation and the Council of Research, Computing and Library Resources at the University of California, Irvine, supported my research trip to Martinique in 2009.
I would also like to thank the librarians and curators who helped me find the materials I needed: Diana Lachatanere and Mary Yearwood at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; Dominique Taffin at the Archives Départementales in Fort-de-France; Dominique Ozonne at the Bibliothèque Schoelcher in Fort-de-France; and a devoted librarian at the Archives d’outre-mer in Aix-en-Provence. A website is asssociated with this book where readers may find images that these librarians helped me locate: http://faculty.sites.uci.edu/aestheticsubjectivity/. Cecile Gry shared her warm home with me when I was conducting research in the South of France; Brent Hayes Edwards facilitated my research on Léon-Gontran Damas at the Schomburg Center in New York; and Vanessa Agard-Jones provided valuable information for my stay in Fort-de-France.
In Martinique, I was fortunate to befriend Alise Meuris, who took me with her on hikes through the jungle and taught me to identify some of the region’s plants. Christian Lapoussinière was generous with his time. Richard and Sally Price offered me a wonderful meal in their beautiful home. I will always be grateful for their welcome and advice.
Back in the States, I gained inspiration from the musicological research of Julian Gerstin, who turned out to be a neighbor. Professor Edward Ahearn, my former teacher and mentor at Brown University, offered timely words of encouragement. A. James Arnold provided a model of scholarly generosity when he allowed me to read the edited files of his genetic edition of Aimé Césaire, Poésie, théâtre, essais et discours months before it was published (Éditions CNRS, 2013). Alex Gil also went out of his way to provide me with documents he had discovered during his own research trips. The conference that he organized with Kaiama Glover, Brent Edwards, and David Scott, “‘The Work of Man Has Only Just Begun’: Legacies of Aimé Césaire” (Columbia University, December 5–6, 2013), will remain for me an exemplary instance of democratic, open-source scholarly collaboration. Thanks as well to Jonathan Blake Fine for his translations from German of documents pertaining to performances of Césaire’s Et les chiens se taisaient.
I have learned a great deal about poetry—and collegiality—from my longtime friends Jean-Pierre Bobillot, Barrett Watten, Carla Harryman, Richard Terdiman, Jean-Jacques Thomas, Aldon Nielsen, and Michael Davidson. I need to make a special shout-out to Roland Greene for inviting me to speak about this project during its early stages at Stanford University; the conversations I had during that visit with him, Johanna Drucker, and Peggy Phelan would prove to be extremely generative. I think Peggy, especially, will recognize how important she has been to me as she reads through these chapters. She, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, and Fred Moten all gave seminars at UC Irvine that were seminal for my thinking. During my many years at Irvine, Ngũgĩ has consistently been a generous colleague and a source of much-appreciated spontaneous hugs. Fred has also shared his work and thoughts with me, for which I hope he knows I am grateful. Nick Nesbitt was a supportive reader whose work remains a touchstone for my own. Finally, a critical reader for the manuscript provided a necessary shove in the right direction. I thank him/her for exemplary honesty and circumspection.
The most wonderful part about academic life is that sometimes the people one admires become valued and faithful friends. This has certainly been the case for me. Outside and on the fringes of academic life I have enjoyed the company and support of Sally Ann Ness, Amelia Jones, Mark Franko, Kathy Ragsdale, Michael Fuller, Victoria Bernal, Tekele Wolde-Michael, Marjorie Beale, Ève Morisi, Ann Walthall, Simon Penny, Susan Klein, and Joe McKenna. During the course of writing this book I also had the privilege of joining a new department where I established fruitful working relationships with new colleagues. Herschel Farbman gave me a really good tip at an important moment. David Pan and John Smith engaged me in fascinating conversations on Adorno and helped me to translate passages of his texts from the original German. And Gail Hart, my new Chair—well, Gail is just sensational. Thanks, also, to Jane Newman for her unflagging support. While finishing the copyediting for this book, I learned of the passing of my former colleague and Chair, the distinguished Renaissance scholar Richard Regosin. Richard’s wisdom, kindness, and sense of balance sustained me through many difficult times and I will always be grateful to him.
The short-lived “Poetry and Theory Group” at UC Irvine, led by Sean Nelson, exposed me to some inspiring readings, and my last graduate seminar in French with Evan Foster, Sokrat Postoli, and Kristin Anthony was a true delight. Philip Leventhal at Columbia University Press has been a terrific editor, offering sage advice and sustained encouragement. Ron Harris and Audrey Smith were patient and considerate during the production process.
To my husband, Chris Beach, I extend my deepest love and gratitude; without you, Julian, and Francesca, the path of scholarship would be a lonely one indeed.