Writer Maryse Condé, winner of the Alternative Nobel Prize, has died

In France April 2 died famous writer Maryse Conde. She became one of the first writers to write consistently about the problems of colonialism and racial inequality in Africa and the Caribbean. She was 90 years old.

Condé was born in 1934 in Guadeloupe and studied at universities in France. She belonged to Marxist circles and worked as a journalist and teacher in different countries of the world.

She published her first novel, Eremachonon, at the age of almost 40. Her third novel, Segou, which takes place in Africa at the end of the 18th century, brought her widespread fame. New York Times called Segou is “the most significant novel about Black Africa in many years.” Other famous books by the writer include “I, Tituba, the Witch of Salem”, “The Incredible and Sad Fate of Ivan and Ivana”, “Life as It Is”. In total, Conde wrote 20 novels, as well as stories, plays and books for children.

Maryse Conde is the winner of the 2018 “alternative Nobel Prize in Literature”, established by the Swedish New Academy, and many other literary prizes. She is a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor, Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters.

Condé, as a public figure, fought to rethink Europe’s colonial legacy. She chaired the Slavery Remembrance Committee, established in France in 2004. On her initiative, since 2006, May 10 is considered the Day of Remembrance of Slavery in France.