Edgar Cairo, Prolific Surinamese Poet

Today we celebrate Surinamese poet, Edgar Cairo. Edgar Eduard Cairo was born in Paramaribo, Suriname on May 7, 1948. He was a prolific writer (he is credited with approximately 40 works in various genres), playwright, as well as a visual artist. Cairo's publications include poems, plays, novellas, novels, and short stories. His writings focused on black identity, black consciousness, slavery in Suriname, and the wider Dutch colonial history in the Caribbean. His work also was influenced by, reflected, and emphasized African oral tradition.

Edgar Cairo

Cairo later studied and lived in The Netherlands, and this also impacted him as a black man navigating that space. He wrote in Dutch, as well as Sranantongo, the Surinamese creole. In 1969, he wrote the novella, Temekoe, his debut publication. Poetry collections include Loos (1989), and Het uur van de Wolf (1995). Edgar Cairo died on November 15, 2000, in The Netherlands.