Véronique Tadjo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Véronique Tadjo
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| Born | 1955 (age 69–70) |
| Alma mater | University of Abidjan; Sorbonne |
| Occupation | Poet, novelist, artist, educator |
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Notable work
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Latérite (Red Earth); A vol d'oiseau (As the Crow Flies); Mamy Wata and the Monster |
Véronique Tadjo (born in 1955) is a talented writer, poet, novelist, and artist. She comes from Côte d'Ivoire, a country in West Africa. She has lived and worked in many different countries across Africa and other parts of the world where people of African descent live. Because of this, she feels connected to all of Africa, a feeling called Pan-Africanism. This connection shows up in the topics, images, and ideas in her books and art.
Contents
About Véronique Tadjo
Her Early Life and School
Véronique Tadjo was born in Paris, France. Her father was from Côte d'Ivoire and worked for the government. Her mother was a French painter and sculptor. Véronique grew up in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, and traveled a lot with her family.
She earned her first degree at the University of Abidjan. Later, she got her doctorate degree from the Sorbonne in Paris. Her studies focused on African-American Literature and Civilization. In 1983, she went to Howard University in Washington, D.C., on a special research scholarship called a Fulbright.
Her Career as a Writer and Educator
In 1979, Véronique Tadjo started teaching English at a high school in Korhogo, a town in northern Côte d'Ivoire. After that, she became a lecturer in the English department at the University of Abidjan until 1993.
Her first book of poems, Latérite / Red Earth, was published in 1984. It won a literary prize from a cultural cooperation agency. Her writing was also included in a famous collection called Daughters of Africa in 1992. This book was put together by Margaret Busby.
In 1998, she joined a special project called "Rwanda: Writing for the sake of memory." She traveled to Rwanda with other African writers. They wanted to write about the terrible events of the Rwandan genocide and what happened afterward. Her book L'Ombre d'Imana (published in 2000) came from her time there.
In recent years, Véronique Tadjo has led many workshops. These workshops teach people how to write and illustrate children's books. She has done this in many countries, including Mali, Benin, Chad, Haiti, Mauritius, French Guiana, Burundi, Rwanda, the United States, and South Africa.
Véronique Tadjo has lived in many different cities around the world. These include Paris, Lagos, Mexico City, Nairobi, and London. After 2007, she lived in Johannesburg, South Africa. There, she was the head of French Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Awards and Special Recognitions
Véronique Tadjo has received many important awards for her work.
- In 1983, she won the Literary Prize of L'Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique.
- In 1993, she received the UNICEF Prize for her children's book Mamy Wata and the Monster. UNICEF is an organization that helps children around the world.
- Mamy Wata and the Monster was also chosen as one of Africa's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century. It was one of only four children's books to make this list!
- In 2005, Tadjo won the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire, a major literary award in Africa.
- In 2016, she received the Bernard Dadié national grand prize for literature.
- Her 2021 book In the Company of Men won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction.
- In June 2024, she was given a special honorary degree, a Doctor of Letters (DLitt), from the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
Her Published Works
Véronique Tadjo has written many different types of books.
Poetry Books
- Latérite (1984) – also known as Red Earth in English.
- A vol d'oiseau (1986) – translated as As The Crow Flies.
- A mi-chemin (2000)
Novels for Older Readers
- Le Royaume aveugle (1991) – translated as The Blind Kingdom.
- Champs de bataille et d'amour (1999)
- L'ombre d'Imana: Voyages jusqu'au bout du Rwanda (2000) – translated as The Shadow of Imana: Travels in the Heart of Rwanda.
- Reine Pokou (2005) – translated as Queen Pokou.
- Loin de mon père (2010) – translated as Far from My Father.
- In the Company of Men (2021)
Children's Books
- La Chanson de la vie (1990)
- Lord of the Dance: An African Retelling (1993)
- Grandma Nana (1996)
- Masque, raconte-moi
- Si j´étais roi, si j´étais reine – translated as If I Were a King, If I Were a Queen.
- Mamy Wata et le Monstre (1993) – also known as Mamy Wata and the Monster.
- Le Grain de Maïs Magique (1996)
- Le Bel Oiseau et la Pluie (1998)
- Nelson Mandela: "Non à L'Apartheid" (2010)
- Ayanda, la petite fille qui ne voulait pas grandir (2007)
See also
In Spanish: Véronique Tadjo para niños
