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Glissant's Mangrove Poetics: Creolizing Language and World

publication · 2026-04-23

In 1997, Édouard Glissant published *Traité du tout-Monde*, an essay continuing his exploration of creolization. The work showcases a linguistic virtuosity comparable to Proust, Céline, and Faulkner, employing an unprecedented Creole syntax that radically renews grammatical conventions. Glissant resists 'local color,' miserabilist confinement, socialist-realist constraints, and supermarket exoticism.

Key facts

  • Édouard Glissant published *Traité du tout-Monde* in 1997.
  • The essay continues his inquiry into the creolization of the world.
  • Glissant's language displays virtuosity akin to Proust, Céline, and Faulkner.
  • He uses an unprecedented Creole syntax that transforms grammatical habits.
  • Glissant refuses 'local color,' miserabilism, socialist realism, and exoticism.

Entities

Artists

  • Édouard Glissant

Sources