Kossi Efoui

Last updated

Kossi Efoui (born 1962 in Anfoin) is a Togolese writer, playwright, and novelist.

Efoui was born in Anfoin, a village in the Maritime Region of Togo, studied philosophy at the University of Lomé, and obtained a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Benin. [1] In the 1980s, he took part in a non-conformist student movement in opposition to President Gnassingbé Eyadéma, and moved to France in 1992 in a case of self-imposed exile. [2] His first play, Le carrefour, was published in France and the United States in 1990 and 1991, respectively, after achieving success in Togo, and it was performed in the French Cultural Centre in Lomé the same year. [3]

After publishing several short stories throughout the mid-1990s, Efoui published his first novel, La Polka, in 1997, and followed that up with La Fabrique de cérémonies in 2001, which won the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire. His third novel, Solo d'un revenant, was published in 2008, and won the Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie, and he followed that up with L'Ombre des choses à venir, published in 2009. [2] Efoui's plays were noted as having unclear settings, which were the subject of criticism as his works were considered too Western and too isolated from Africa, which Efoui did intentionally to link Africa and the West in his works. Specifically, in Le carrefour, he described his characters as bodies, rather than specifically noting them as black or African. [4] [5] In 2010, the University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle organized a collection of Efoui's plays, titled "Le théâtre de Kossi Efoui : une poétique du marronnage au pouvoir". [2]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Régis Debray</span> French philosopher, journalist, former government official and academic

Jules Régis Debray is a French philosopher, journalist, former government official and academic. He is known for his theorization of mediology, a critical theory of the long-term transmission of cultural meaning in human society, and for associating with Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara in Bolivia in 1967 and advancing Salvador Allende's presidency in Chile in the early 1970s. He returned to France in 1973 and later held various official posts in the French government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andreï Makine</span> French novelist (born 1957)

Andreï Sergueïevitch Makine is a French novelist. He also publishes under the pseudonym Gabriel Osmonde. Makine's novels include Dreams of My Russian Summers (1995) which won two top French awards, the Prix Goncourt and the Prix Médicis. He was elected to seat 5 of the Académie Française on 3 March 2016, succeeding Assia Djebar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Togolese Football Federation</span> Governing body of football in Togo

The Togolese Football Federation or FTF is the governing body of football in Togo. In 2006, the Togo national football team participated for first time in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony Lab'ou Tansi</span>

Sony Lab'ou Tansi, born Marcel Ntsoni, was a Congolese novelist, short-story writer, playwright, and poet in French language. Though he was only 47 when he died, Tansi remains one of the most prolific African writers and the most internationally renowned practitioner of the "New African Writing." His novel The Antipeople won the Grand Prix Littéraire d'Afrique Noire. In his later years, he ran a theatrical company in Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo.

Kabiye is an Eastern Gurunsi Gur language spoken primarily in northern Togo. Throughout the 20th century, there was extensive migration to the centre and south of Togo and also to Ghana and Benin. Kabiye speakers made up over 23% of the Togolese population in 1999.

The Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger is a French literary prize created in 1948. It is awarded yearly in two categories: Novel and Essay for books translated into French.

Natacha Michel is a French political activist, militant and writer, born in 1941. She has published a dozen novels and a growing body of literary criticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alain Mabanckou</span> Congolese writer (born 1966)

Alain Mabanckou 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. He is among the best known and most successful writers in the French language, and one of the best known African writers in France. In some circles in Paris he is known as "the Samuel Beckett of Africa".

The Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire is a literary prize presented every year by the ADELF, the Association of French Language Writers for a French original text from Sub-Saharan Africa. It was originally endowed with 2,000 french francs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Segbefia</span> Togolese footballer

Kossi Prince Segbefia is a Togolese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Turkish club Tuzlaspor. He is a Togolese international, having made his debut in September 2011 against Botswana. His older brother, Alikem, is also a footballer who plays for Al-Jaish SC Damascus in Syria.

Julien Kossi Denke, known as Wazo, was a Togo international football player.

Félix Couchoro was a Togolese writer and educator.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Lomé, Togo.

Leïla Marouane (born in 1960) is a Tunisian-born French Algerian journalist and creative writer. Leïla Marouane is a pseudonym; her full name is Leyla Zineb Mechentel. She is an author of novels and short fiction which have received a number of awards within the French-language literature community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gérard Rondeau</span> French photographer

Gérard Rondeau was a French photographer. He took photographs of World War I battlefields in his native Marne, the Reims cathedral, and black-and-white portraits of celebrities and authors. His photography was exhibited both in France and internationally. He was the recipient of an award for his work. He was the illustrator of over 20 non-fiction books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Christophe Bailly</span> French writer, poet and playwright

Jean-Christophe Bailly is a French writer, poet and playwright.

Gilles Carpentier was a French writer and editor

Mass media in Togo includes radio, television, and online and print formats. The Agence Togolaise de Presse news agency began in 1975. The Union des Journalistes Independants du Togo press association is headquartered in Lomé.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grégoire Delacourt</span>

Grégoire Delacourt is a French advertiser and writer.

Yves-Emmanuel Dogbé was a Togolese writer, philosopher, sociologist, and educator.

References

  1. ↑ "2013/2014 Kossi Efoui "A L'ombre des choses à venir"" (in French). La Boutique D'ecriture. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Les invités - Efoui Kossi" (in French). Etonnants Voyageurs.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  3. ↑ Rubin, Don (1997). The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: Africa. Taylor & Francis. p.  319. ISBN   9780415059312.
  4. ↑ Gikandi, Simon (2003). Encyclopedia of African Literature. Routledge. p. 648. ISBN   9781134582228.
  5. ↑ Barlet, Olivier (August 2016). Contemporary African Cinema. MSU Press. p. 466. ISBN   9781628952704.
  6. ↑ "Kossi Efoui" (in French). Afrology. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.