Boubacar Boris Diop (born 26 October 1946) is a

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

ese novelist, journalist and screenwriter. His best known work, ''Murambi, le livre des ossements'' (translated into English as ''Murambi: The Book of Bones''), is the fictional account of a notorious massacre during the

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

of 1994. He is also the founder of '' Sol'', an independent newspaper in Senegal, and the author of many books, political works, plays and screenplays. ''Doomi Golo'' (2003) is one of the only novels ever written in

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

; it deals with the life of a Senegalese Wolof family. The book was published by Papyrus Afrique,

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

. He was awarded the 2022

Neustadt International Prize for Literature The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award for literature sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and its international literary publication, ''World Literature Today''. It is considered one of the more prestigious inte ...

Life and career

Boubacar Boris Diop was born in Dakar in 1946. He taught literature and philosophy in several Senegalese high schools. He became technical advisor at the Cultural Ministry of Senegal. He began working as a journalist and writer, writing for local newspapers, the Swiss newspaper ''

Neue Zürcher Zeitung The ''Neue Zürcher Zeitung'' (''NZZ''; "New Journal of Zürich") is a Swiss, German-language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zürich. The paper was founded in 1780. It was described as having a reputation as a high-quality ne ...

'' and the Paris-based magazine ''Afrique, perspectives et réalités''.

Work

Diop's book ''Murambi, le livre des ossements'' was written for the ''Rwanda: écrire par devoir de mémoire'' wanda: write out of a duty to rememberinitiative of 1998. He is the author of ''Doomi Golo'', a novel entirely in

. It was translated to English by Vera Wülfing-Leckie and El Hadji Moustapha Diop, and published as ''Doomi Golo: The Hidden Notebooks'' by the

Michigan State University Press Michigan State University Press is the scholarly publishing arm of Michigan State University. Scholarly publishing at the university significantly predates the establishment of its press in 1947. By the 1890s the institution's Experiment Stations ...

in the series African Humanities and the Arts. His novel ''Murambi, The Book of Bones'' won him the 2022

. Diop also writes for the cinema and theatre and contributes to numerous publications, including ' and ''

Chimurenga ''Chimurenga'' is a word in the Shona language. The Ndebele equivalent, though not as widely used since the majority of Zimbabweans are Shona speaking, is ''Umvukela'', meaning "revolutionary struggle" or uprising. In specific historical term ...

''.

Novels

* ''Kaveena'', Philippe Rey, 2006. * ''L'Impossible innocence'', Philippe Rey, 2004. * ''Doomi Golo'', novel in Wolof, Éditions Papyrys, 2003 (in French ''Les Petits de la guenon'', Éditions Philippe Rey, 2009). * ''Murambi, Le livre des ossements'', Paris: Stock, 2000. English translation by Fiona McLaughlin, ''Murambi: The Book of Bones'' (Indiana University Press, 2006) * ''L'Europe, vues d'Afrique'', short stories, several authors, Le Figuier. * ''Le Cavalier et son ombre'', Paris: Stock, 1997, Price Tropiques 1997. * ''Les Traces de la meute'', novel, Paris: Éditions l'Harmattan, 1993. * ''Les Tambours de la mémoire'', Paris: Nathan, 1987, re-edition L'Harmattan, 1990, Grand Prix de la République du Sénégal pour les Lettres, 1990. * ''Le Temps de Tamango'', follows ''Thiaroye, terre rouge'' (théâtre), first edition Paris: Harmattan, 1981, Prix Bureau Sénégalais du Droit d'Auteurs 1984. Translated into Italian. Re-issued Le Serpent à Plumes, 2002.

Essays

* ''Négrophobie'', essay, with Odile Tobner and

François-Xavier Verschave François-Xavier Verschave (28 October 1945, in Lille – 29 June 2005, in Villeurbanne) was primarily known as one of the founders of the French NGO '' Survie'' ("Survival"), over which he presided since 1995, and as coiner of the term ''Françafr ...

, Ed. Les Arènes, 2005. * ''L'Afrique au secours de l'Occident'', preface of the book by Anne-Cécile Robert, Ed. de l'Atelier * ''Le Temps des aveux'', Labor, Belgique 1993, collection of texts on the issue ''Ecriture et démocratie'' (writing and democracy)

Plays

* ''Thiaroye terre rouge'', L'Harmattan 1981 (with ''Le Temps de Tamango''). * ''Grandakar-Usine'', co-written with Senegalese director Oumar Ndao, has been performed widely in sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb.

Political writings

* Nicholas Sarkozy’s Unacceptable, 2008. Speech By Boubacar Boris Diop (Trans. from French by Wandia) Njoya).
Ivory Coast: colonial adventure
By Boubacar Boris Diop. Monde Diplomatique, April 2005.
LE SENEGAL ENTRE CHEIKH ANTA DIOP ET SENGHOR
Boubacar Boris Diop, 2005.
Boubacar Boris Diop (Journaliste écrivain) : Les parents pauvres des médias
The PANOS Institute of West Africa, 2002. * Boubacar Boris Diop, Dakar Noir . Transition - Issue 87 (Volume 10, Number 3), 2001, pp. 90–107.

on the Spanish exclaves Ceuta and Melilla at signandsight.com.

References

Bibliography

Boubacar Boris Diop
La Maison des Auteurs, Les Francophonies en Limousin. Biography and links, December 2007.
Culturebas.net: Artist portrait
Boubacar Boris Diop, 28 April 2005.
Boubacar Boris DIOP: Biographie
senegalaisement.com.
Boubacar Boris Diop Returns to Senegal. CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES RUTGERS UNIVERSITY Newsletter: January 2005, Volume V

Interviews

Yolande Bouka & Chantal Thompson. Lingua Romana: a journal of French, Italian and Romanian culture, Volume 2, number 1 / fall 2004. * Sugnet, Charles. Dances with Wolofs: A conversation with Boubacar Boris Diop. Transition - Issue 87 (Volume 10, Number 3), 2001, pp. 138–159
BOUBACAR BORIS DIOP : « Il a été des combats les plus rudes pour la dignité de l’homme noir’ »
Elie-Charles MOREAU.