Alain Mabanckou | |
|---|---|
 Mabanckou at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2017 | |
| Born | 24 February 1966 |
| Nationality | France/Congo |
| Education | Marien Ngouabi University; Université Paris-Dauphine |
| Occupation(s) | Novelist, journalist, poet, and academic |
| Website | www |
Alain Mabanckou (born 24 February 1966) is a novelist, journalist, poet, and academic, a French citizen born in the Republic of the Congo, he is currently a Professor of Literature at UCLA. He is best known for his novels and non-fiction writing depicting the experience of contemporary Africa and the African diaspora in France, including Broken Glass (2005) and the Prix Renaudot-winning Memoirs of a Porcupine (2006).[1] He is among the best known and most successful writers in the French language,[2] and one of the best known African writers in France. In some circles in Paris he is known as "the Samuel Beckett of Africa".[3]
Mabanckou is also controversial,[4] and has been criticized by some African and diaspora writers for stating that Africans bear responsibility for their own misfortune.[5] He has argued against the idea that African and Caribbean writers should focus on their local realities in order to serve and express their communities. He further contends that categories such as nation, race, and territory fall short of encapsulating reality, and urges writers to create works that deal with issues beyond these subjects.[6]
- ^ "Alain Mabanckou, l'enfant noir". "G.L.", Le Nouvel Observateur, 19 August 2010.
- ^ Alain Mabanckou Archived 9 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Julien Bisson, France Today, 9 April 2009.
- ^ "Prince of the absurd", The Economist, 7 July 2011.
- ^ Adrien Hart, "Les Africains ont une responsabilité dans la traite des Noirs", SlateAfrique, 16 March 2012.
- ^ Valérie Marin La Meslée, "Le grand rire d’Alain Mabanckou", SlateAfrique, 30 January 2012.
- ^ Perisic, Alexandra (2019). Precarious Crossings: Immigration, Neoliberalism, and the Atlantic. Columbus: The Ohio State University Press. p. 176. doi:10.26818/9780814214107. hdl:1811/88397. ISBN 978-0-8142-1410-7. S2CID 203491348.