Magie Noire
Magie Noire by Paul Morand: A Review
"Magie Noire" is a 1928 book by French writer Paul Morand that chronicles his travels through Sub-Saharan Africa and his encounters with the continent's cultures, which he greatly admired. The book was translated into English in 1929 by Hamish Miles and features illustrations by Aaron Douglas.
In a review for The Outlook, Lucille Fort Hewlings compared the book to André Gide's "Travels in the Congo," which had also been published in English around the same time. She wrote:
"If it were not that two Frenchmen happened to be publishing books about negroes at the same time, no one would be cruel enough to treat Paul Morand's work (discussed below) by comparing it with that of André Gide. But the coincidence could not be more illuminating of the difference in attitude of mind towards the black man between the mind of an ordinary, versatile, up-to-date but not in advance, and then the mind of a highly intellectual, advanced (Gide). Both are lovers of the negro. But Morand is the ecstatic pursuer of Harlem; Gide is the intelligent critic of primitive culture, the admirer of primitive virtue."
"Magie Noire" will be of interest to readers of Bruno Frank's "The Persians Are Coming," as Morand presents an African outside of America, with a primitive allure for a war-weary Europe that is breaking down. This is further illustrated by Aaron Douglas's drawings, as he shows us shadowy figures dancing against a symbolic backdrop. Dimly lit arms are raised in prayer to an African god that captivates a war-weary Europe. Aaron Douglas understands his people well, and his drawings create a stark contrast to the intentional violence in Morand's prose.