Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo

Malagasy writer (1901/1903 – 1937)

Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo (born Joseph-Casimir Rabearivelo; 4 March 1901 or 1903 – 22 June 1937) was a Malagasy poet who is widely considered to be Africa's first modern poet and the greatest literary artist of Madagascar. Part of the first Malagasy generation raised under French colonization, Rabearivelo grew up impoverished and failed to complete secondary education. His passion for French literature and traditional Malagasy oral poetry (hainteny) prompted him to read extensively and educate himself on a variety of subjects, including the French language and its poetic and prose traditions.

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