Maryse Condé

At a glance

Born 1934-02-11; died 2024-04-02.

Known as: writer, university teacher, children's writer, playwright, and literary scholar. Citizenship: France.

Listed as: human.

Who they were

Maryse Condé was a French novelist, critic, and playwright from the French Overseas department and region of Guadeloupe. She was also an academic, whose teaching career took her to West Africa and North America, as well as the Caribbean and Europe. As a writer, Condé is best known for her novel Ségou (1984–1985).

Early life

Educated at: Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris 3.

Early life Born in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe , on 11 February 1934, [ 1 ] she was the youngest of eight children. Her parents were among the first black instructors in Guadeloupe. Her mother, Jeanne Quidal (who was from Marie-Galante , an island which would often feature in Condé's creative writing), [ 2 ] directed her own school for girls. Her father, Auguste Boucolon – previously an educator – founded the small bank "La Caisse Coopérative des prêts",

Path and career

Worked with / for: University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, University of Virginia, and Paris Nanterre University.

Awards / honours: Guggenheim Fellowship, Anaïs Ségalas Prize, Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde, and Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres‎.

Career In 1958, Condé attended a rehearsal in Paris of Les Nègres/The Blacks by Jean Genet , where she met the Guinean actor Mamadou Condé. [ 1 ] In August 1958, she married Mamadou Condé. [ 1 ] They eventually had three children together before separating in 1969 (Condé already had one child from Haitian journalist Jean Dominique). By November 1959, the couple's relationship had already become strained, and Condé decided to go alone to the Ivory Coast , where she taught for a year in Bingerville .

Death Condé died in Apt, Vaucluse , southeastern France, on 2 April 2024, at the age of 90. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] ^ "Mort de Maryse Condé, grande dame de la littérature et de la pensée anticoloniale – L'Humanité" . humanite.fr (in French). 3 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024 . Retrieved 2 April 2024 . ^ Marivat, Gladys (2 April 2024). "L'écrivaine guadeloupéenne Maryse Condé est morte" . Le Monde.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 7 April 2024 . Retrieved 2 April 2024 .

Why this date

Maryse Condé appears on our April 2 calendar for 2024 as a death entry.