- Patrice Kayo
Patrice Kayo is an
African scholar ,poet , andauthor born in 1942 inBandjoun ,West Province ,Cameroon . He is also known for his radical opposition toPaul Biya 's political regime, and his advocacy forfreedom of speech andhuman rights .He served as chairman of the National Association of Poets and Writers of Cameroon from 1969 to 1981, and was one of the founders of the International Federation of French-speaking Writers established in 1982 in
Quebec ,Canada .Patrice Kayo was born and raised in an
aristocratic Bamileke family. After spending a few years at theCatholic seminary of Melong, he enrolled inLycée Joss inDouala . Upon graduation, the young Kayo would be influenced by the ideas ofChe Guevara ,Kwame Nkrumah ,Martin Luther King, Jr , and get hired as a reporter for aleftist newspaper in colonial Cameroon. During that time, hisactivism would lead to his arrest and condamnation to death by aMilitary tribunal inBafoussam . He was charged with support to the armedrebellion by writing a poem in honor ofRuben Um Nyobe , leading figure of theanti-imperialist fight in Cameroon, assassinated by French troops in 1958. The charges would later be dropped, and the verdict annulled.After these events, Patrice Kayo obtained his
B.A and Master of Arts in Education from theUniversity of Yaounde , then aPh.D from theUniversity of Paris ,Sorbonne , inFrance .Follower of
Frantz Fanon andAimé Césaire , Patrice Kayo is a promoter of the African literature.He has been married for thirty five years to Celine, a high school teacher and is the father of six children. Since his retirement in 2000, he has been reported to be living in his Bandjoun farm, where he still writes.
Some of Patrice Kayo
publications .-Les fetes tragiques (Novel, Presses Universitaires d'Afrique, 2007)
-Tout le long des saisons (Novel, Editions CLE, 2001)
-Anthologie de la poesie camerounaise (Collection of Poetry, Presses Universitaires de Yaounde, 2000)
-Fables des Montagnes (Tales for children, Editions CLE, 1998) For ages 12 to 14.
-Chansons populaires bamileke (Imprimerie Saint Paul, 1996)
-En attendant l'Aurore (Collection of Poetry, CLE, 1988)
-Les sauterelles (Novel, Editions CLE, 1986)
-Dechirements (Silex, 1983)
-Fables et devinettes de mon enfance (Tales for children, Editions CLE, 1979)
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