On Crystallization

Abstract

This essay considers the various meanings of the word “crystallization” in Frantz Fanon’s main theses on national culture and his political philosophy more generally. It also further considers the implications of crystallization alongside Fanon’s notion of the “nation to come” for an understanding of his approach to art, history, philosophy, and religion. This philosophy of crystallization, of which there has been little or no mention in Fanonian studies, is also contrasted with and compared to works by the Guinean poet Keita Fodéba and the Iranian critic Ali Shari'ati.