René Maran

René Maran (Fort-de-France, Martinique, 8 November 1887 - 9 May 1960) was a French Guyanese poet and novelist, and the first black writer to win the French Prix Goncourt (in 1921).

Biography

Born on the boat carrying his parents to Fort-de-France where he lived till the age of seven. After that he went to Gabon, where his father Héménéglide Maran was in the colonial service. After attending boarding school in Bordeaux, France, he joined the French Colonial service in French Equatorial Africa. It was his experience there that was the basis for many of his novels, including "Batouala: A True Black Novel", which won the Prix Goncourt.

elected works

*"La Maison du Bonheur" (poetry, 1909)
*"La Vie Intérieure" (poetry, 1912)
*"Batouala" (novel, 1921)
*"Le Livre de la Brousse" (novel, 1934)
*"Un Homme pareil aux autres" (novel, 1947)

Further reading

*cite book | last = Cameron | first = Keith | year = 1985 | title = René Maran | publisher = Twayne Publishers | location = Boston | id = ISBN 0805766049
*cite journal | first = Mercer | last = Cook | year = 1940 | month = October | title = The Literary Contribution of the French West Indian | journal = The Journal of Negro History | volume = 25 | issue = 4 | pages = 520–530 | id = ISSN: 0022-2992 | url = http://www.nathanielturner.com/caribbeanlit.htm | doi = 10.2307/2715140
*cite book | last = Peabody | first = Sue | coauthors = and Tyler Stovall (eds.) | year = 2003 | title = The Color of Liberty: Histories of Race in France | publisher = Duke University Press | location = Durham | id = ISBN 0822331306