Revered poet and political activist AIME CESAIRE has died at the age of 94.
Cesaire died in on the French island of Martinique at the Fort-de-France hospital on Thursday (17Apr08), where he was being treated for heart problems and other ailments.
His poetry and plays, including a black adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest, are regularly performed and studied in France.
Cesaire was partly responsible for coining the word "negritude", a term affirming pride in black identity.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, led the tributes to Cesaire, saying, "As a free and independent spirit, throughout his whole life he embodied the fight for the recognition of his identity and the richness of his African roots."
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