The Guadeloupean author Maryse Condé, revealed to the general public in 1984 with her novel “Ségou”, died on the night of April 1 to 2, 2024, leaving behind a world-renowned work rewarded with the New Académie literature prize. in Stockholm in 2018.
“The dead only die if they live in our hearts. They live if we cherish them, if we honor their memory (…)”… It is with this extract from “I, Tituba witch… Black of Salem” (1986) by Maryse Condé that Louis Mussington, president of the Collectivity, wanted to pay tribute to the writer: “Today, we mourn the loss of the great Guadeloupean novelist, Maryse Condé, who died at the age of 90. Throughout her career, Maryse Condé has engaged in an incessant fight against all forms of oppression and injustice. His powerful and committed literary work reflected his deep convictions in favor of social justice and equality. Maryse Condé was a major voice in Caribbean and African literature. His prolific work, including novels, essays and plays, is a powerful testimony against all forms of racism. By exploring themes such as the condition of Caribbean women, slavery and the relationship between Africa and its diaspora, Maryse Condé highlighted the injustices and suffering that persist in our society. His writing, imbued with sensitivity, creativity and lucidity, was a means of giving a voice to those who were marginalized and oppressed. Today we honor his legacy. We have lost an incomparable feather. Rest in peace, Maryse Condé.” Born on February 11, 1934 in Pointe-à-Pitre, Maryse Boucolon was the youngest child in a family of descendants of slaves. Her mother was one of the first teachers of color of her generation and her father rose through the ranks of public administration: they raised their daughter in the cult of school and literature. Leaving Guadeloupe at sixteen, she was a pioneer in her studies, from the Lycée Fénelon to the Sorbonne. In the 50s, Maryse took up the anti-colonial fight and met her first husband, Mamadou Condé, actor in a play by Jean Genet. In 1, she became a French teacher in Ivory Coast, Guinea, Ghana, then Senegal. Author of theater texts, she joined the Présence Africaine publishing house in Paris in 1959, after a detour to London, where she met her second husband, Richard Philcox, an English professor who became her translator. In 1970, she published her thesis and her first novel, “Hérémakhonon”. Eight years later, the publication of “Ségou” changed his life like the history of 1976th century literature. The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, also paid tribute to the writer: “People like us don't write”: this phrase heard as a little girl in Guadeloupe, Maryse Condé will have built her life and built a work to deny it . His death is that of one of the most read, most loved, most admired voices in our French language. _VX
Source: Faxinfo https://faxinfo.fr/en/hommage-lecrivaine-guadeloupeenne-maryse-conde-est-decedee/
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