Bernard Binlin Dadié

Bernard Binlin Dadié (or sometimes Bernard Dadie) (born 1916 near Abidjan) is a prolific Ivorian novelist, playwright, poet, and ex-administrator. Among many other senior positions, starting in 1957, he held the post of Minister of Culture in the government of Côte d'Ivoire from 1977 to 1986.

He worked for the French government in Dakar, Senegal, but on returning to his homeland in 1947, became part of its movement for independence. Before Côte d'Ivoire's independence in 1960, he was detained for sixteen months for taking part in demonstrations which opposed the French colonial government.

In his writing, influenced by his experiences of colonialism as a child, Dadié attempts to connect the messages of traditional African folktales with the contemporary world. His humanism and desire for the equality and independence of Africans and their culture is also prevalent.

Partial list of Works

*"Légendes africaines" (1954)
*"Carnets de prison" (1981) - details his time in prison

Famous for his work I Thank You, God

"I thank you God for creating me black,For making of mePorter of all sorrows,Setting on my headThe world.I wear the Centaur's hideAnd I have carried the world since the first morning.

White is a colour for special occasionsBlack the colour for every dayAnd I have carried the World since the first evening.

I am gladOf the shape of my headMade to carry the World,ContentWith the shape of my noseThat must snuff every wind of the WorldPleasedWith the shape of my legsReady to run all the heats of the World.

I thank you God for creating me blackFor making of mePorter of all sorrows..

Still I amGlad to carry the World,Glad of my short armsOf my long armsOf the thickness of my lips..

I thank you God for creating me blackWhite is a colour for special occasionsBlack the colour for every dayAnd i have carried the World since the dawn of timeAnd my laugh over the World, through the night, creates the Day.

I thank you, God for creating me black

External links

* [http://www.colby.edu/french/fr128/cldelano/bibliographie.htm Another bibliography (in French)]
* [http://www.unc.edu/~ottotwo/dadie.html Reviews of "One Way: Bernard Dadie Observes America", and "An African in Paris"]

References

* [http://www.colby.edu/french/fr128/cldelano/biographie.htm]