SOURCE: "L. S. Senghor: The Mask Poems of Chants d'Ombre," in African Literature Today, edited by Eldred Durosimi Jones, Africana Publishing Co., 1973, pp. 76-92.

In the following essay, Peters explores the way in which African aesthetic sensibility influences Senghor's work

Critical judgement of Leopold Senghor's poetry is fraught with a number of problems, not all of them literary. As the poet-President of Senegal there is a distinct temptation for admirers of his versatility to be overwhelming in their praise by eulogising the politician instead of judg ing the poet. In addition, as the most eloquent champion of Négritude there is the tendency for novitiates as well as loyal adherents of long standing to extol the leader's poetry because he is a good and faithful leader rather than because he is a good poet.

On the other hand, those who criticise Négritude as a strait-jacket in so...