Lettres d’hivernage

Lettres d’hivernage, published in 1973 by Éditions du Seuil, is a collection of love letters: Senghor writes to « Signares », the beloved, during the hivernage season — the dry and hollow season in Senegal, conducive to meditation. The title also refers figuratively to years of trial: those of the president-poet.

The voice becomes more stripped down than before. The poet watches the world age and clings to the beloved presence like a root. Some poems, published separately between 1973 and 1978, will nourish the cycle of Élégies majeures.

Lettres d’hivernage is often combined with Nocturnes in a single volume (Seuil, 1974), as proven by the cover of this edition.

Sources

• https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9opold_S%C3%A9dar_Senghor (section Poèmes)
• Open Library data: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1283526W
• amazon.fr fiche: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/2020006286