Myth: Aimé Césaire, according to “Calling the Magician,” believes that the myth is an important concept for the liberation of the Caribbean. The myth for Césaire is the set of beliefs and values that absolutely transforms ones relation to the world and within oneself. (We previously called this the imagination.) In order to obtain the myth as a new reality it must be created. Césaire calls upon the magician to create the myth; the magician is like the poet where they can make something out of nothing, creating the new reality. The new reality becomes something socially real that reimagines race.
Quotes:
“The true manifestation of civilization is myth. Social organization, religion, partnerships, philosophies, morals, architecture and sculpture are the representations and expressions of myth.”
“In the current state of things, the only avowed refuge of the mythic spirit is poetry. And poetry is an insurrection against society because it is a devotion to abandoned or exiled or obliterated myth.”
“Civilization is dying all around the world because myths are dead or dying or being born. We must wait for the powdery frost of outdated or emaciated myths to blow apart. We are awaiting a debacle.”