Alain Mabanckou facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alain Mabanckou
|
|
|---|---|
Mabanckou at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2017
|
|
| Born | 24 February 1966 Congo-Brazzaville
|
| Nationality | France/Congo |
| Education | Marien Ngouabi University; Université Paris-Dauphine |
| Occupation | Novelist, journalist, poet, and academic |
Alain Mabanckou (born 24 February 1966) is a famous writer, journalist, and poet. He is also a university professor. Born in the Republic of the Congo, he is now a French citizen. He teaches Literature at UCLA in the United States.
Mabanckou is well-known for his novels and non-fiction books. These often describe life in modern Africa and for people of African descent living in France. Some of his famous books include Broken Glass (2005) and Memoirs of a Porcupine (2006). The latter won the important Prix Renaudot award. He is one of the most successful writers in the French language. Many people consider him one of the best African writers in France.
Alain Mabanckou believes that writers should explore many different topics. He thinks they should not only focus on their local communities or countries. He encourages writers to create stories that go beyond ideas of nation, race, or territory.
Life
Alain Mabanckou was born in Congo-Brazzaville in 1966. He grew up in the city of Pointe-Noire. There, he finished high school, focusing on Letters and Philosophy. He then studied law at the Marien Ngouabi University in Brazzaville.
When he was 22, he received a scholarship to study in France. He already had several handwritten books, mostly poems. He started publishing these poems three years later. After getting a special law degree from the Université Paris-Dauphine, he worked for a company called Suez for about ten years.
Writing
Mabanckou started focusing more on writing after his first novel came out. This book was called Bleu-Blanc-Rouge (Blue-White-Red). It won him the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire in 1999. Since then, he has regularly published both novels and poetry.
Mabanckou is most famous for his fiction books. One notable novel is Verre cassé (Broken Glass). It is a funny story about a former teacher from Congo. The story takes place in a bar he often visits. Broken Glass has also been turned into plays. It was published in English in 2009.
In 2006, he published Memoires de porc-épic (Memoirs of a Porcupine). This book won the Prix Renaudot, a very high award in French literature. The story uses a style called magic realism. It retells an old folk tale. The book shows how a young Congolese man named Kibandi becomes violent.
The folk tale is an African legend. It says that "All human beings have an animal double." Some of these animal doubles are good, while others are bad. This idea of doubles is important in the story. The novel is told by one of these doubles, a porcupine. The porcupine tells a baobab tree about his time with Kibandi, his "master."
On Kibandi's tenth birthday, his father makes him drink a special potion. This potion connects Kibandi to his "harmful double," the porcupine, for life. This shows how having a double can sometimes bring bad luck. Kibandi and the porcupine commit several murders in their village. After Kibandi dies, the porcupine lives on. He then tells his story to the baobab tree. During his confessions, the porcupine often shares deep thoughts about humans and animals. He also talks about African storytelling traditions.
Mabanckou's 2009 novel, Black Bazar, is a dark but funny story. It is set in a Paris Afro-Cuban bar. The book shows the lives of people from different African communities living in France.
Mabanckou's books have been translated and published in 15 languages. Several of his books are available in English.
Academic
In 2002, Mabanckou began teaching Francophone literature at the University of Michigan. After three years, he moved to the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2006. He is now a full Professor in the French Department there. He lives in Santa Monica, California. In 2016, he was a Visiting Professor at the Collège de France.
Other work
Mabanckou was a judge for the 2022 Booker Prize. This is a famous award for books. He was on the judging panel with other notable people.
Mabanckou also started a music project called Black Bazar.
Awards and recognition
- Prix de la Société des poètes français, 1995 for L'usure des lendemains
- Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire, for Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, 1999
- Prix du roman Ouest-France-Etonnants Voyageurs 2005, for Verre cassé
- Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie 2005, for Verre cassé
- Prix RFO du livre 2005, for Verre cassé
- Prix Renaudot 2006, for Mémoires de porc-épic
- Prix de La Rentrée littéraire 2006, for Mémoires de porc-épic
- Prix Aliénor d'Aquitaine 2006, for Mémoires de porc-épic
- Prix Créateurs Sans Frontières 2007 (Ministère français des Affaires Etrangères), for Mémoires de porc-épic
- Médaille de citoyen d'honneur de la ville de Saint-Jean-d'Angély (Charente-Maritime, France), 2004
- Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur par décret du Président de la République française, 2010.
- Georges Brassens Prize 2010, for Demain j'aurai vingt ans
- Prix Prince Pierre de Monaco 2013, Littérature
- Académie Française Prize: Grand Prix de littérature Henri Gal 2012 for his entire work
- Premio Strega Europeo: 2015, Finalist
- Man Booker International Prize: 2015, Finalist
- 2016 Puterbaugh Fellow for the entire body of work
- 2017 Man Booker International Prize selection for the novel Black Moses
- The Guardian ranked Broken Glass number 99 in its list of 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.
- 2021: Elected a Royal Society of Literature International Writer
See also
In Spanish: Alain Mabanckou para niños
