the Norman house of Léopold Sédar Senghor, which houses unpublished archives, opens for the first time to the public

There is excitement among researchers, the Norman house of the politician and poet Léopold Sédar Senghor will soon reveal all its secrets. The building located near Caen, in the village of Verson belonged to the second wife of the writer, Colette Hubert. The former Senegalese president first lived there in the summers then settled there in the 1980s, until his death in 2001. Now bequeathed to the town hall, it will be in charge of drawing up a complete inventory of the finds that rest in the house. First treasure, a checkered notebook titled Song for Naëtt, poems, written by the author. An invaluable document, a first draft of what will later become Nocturnes published in 1961.

“Here is a nugget. We can expect to find more” because “Senghor elaborated his poetic work when he took his holidays in Normandy”, explains Souleymane Bachir Diagne, professor at Columbia University in the United States. The BNF also relies on the contents of the house to enrich its collection, which is far from being complete. “There is a Senghor collection of 629 sheets but it is not at all complete. The poet gave access to the second, third and fourth versions of the texts but not to the first, where he hesitated, groped and experimented moreé”, specifies Claire Riffard, member of the CNRS, to AFP. A total of 25m³ of archives secured in 2015 in a hangar are waiting to be inventoried.

In the meantime, the house will open its doors to the public on the occasion of Heritage Days, September 17 and 18. The opportunity for visitors to discover the building built in 1837. The author is never far away, busts bearing his likeness are drawn in several rooms, but the highlight is the author’s office and its extensive library. Books reveal intimate dedications. Some written by Senghor himself, “to my Colette who is my poetry”“to Colette, my wife, to my Princess of Beborg, beautiful even in her green and gold fury“Others by illustrious friends,”to Léopold Sédar Senghor, co-author without knowing it of this work where he will find so many familiar echoes: those of our youth, our struggles and our common hopes, fraternally, Aimé Césaire”stands out on the pages of a copy of the complete works of the Martinican writer.