Conversations With Maryse Conde

by Conde, Maryse

• ISBN13: 9780803287433
• ISBN10: 0803287437
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-10-01
• Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr

Summary

This book is an exploration of the life and art of Maryse Conde, who first won international acclaim forSegu, a novel about West African experience and the slave trade. Born in Guadeloupe in 1937, Conde lived in Guinea after it won its independence from France. Later she lived in Ghana and Senegal during turbulent, decisive moments in the histories of these countries. Her writingsnovels, plays, essays, stories, and children's bookshave led her to an increasingly important role within Africa and throughout the world. Francoise Pfaff met Maryse Conde in 1981, when she first interviewed her. Their friendship grew quickly. In 1991 the two women continued recording conversations about Conde's geographical sojourns and literary paths, her personality, and her thoughts. Their conversations reveal connections between Conde's vivid art and her eventful, passionate life. In her encounters with historical and literary figures, and in her opinions on politics and culture, Conde appears as an engaging witness to her time. The conversations frequently sparkle with humor; at other moments they are infused with profound seriousness. Maryse Conde is the recipient of the French literary awards Le Grand Prix Litteraire de la Femme and Le Prix de l'Academie Francaise. She currently teaches at Columbia University and her most recent works includeTree of LifeandCrossing the Mangrove.

Author Biography

Born and educated in Paris, Françoise Pfaff is a professor of French at Howard University. The translator of this book, she is also the author of Twenty-five Black African Filmmakers: A Critical Study, with Filmography and Bio-Bibliography and The Cinema of Ousmane Sembene, A Pioneer of African Cinema. Entretiens avec Maryse Condé was first published in France in 1993.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
A Plural Life	p. 1
First Works: Fiction and Literary Criticism	p. 34
Segu: Grandeur and Decline of an African Family	p. 47
Return to the West Indies and the Americas	p. 56
Haiti cherie; The Hills of Massabielle and Various Other Plays	p. 78
The Political Arena, Les derniers rois mages, and More Short Stories	p. 89
Views on the Black Diaspora	p. 108
From "Comedie d'amour" to La colonie du nouveau monde	p. 120
Bibliography	p. 139
Index	p. 167
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