Jeanne Goba (1926 – 7 October 1992), known by her pen name Jeanne de Cavally, was an Ivorian children's book writer.

Biography

Goba (née Wawa) was born to a large family in

Bingerville Bingerville is a town in south-eastern Ivory Coast. It is a suburb of Abidjan and is one of four sub-prefectures of Abidjan Autonomous District. Bingerville is also a commune. The town is located about 10 kilometres east of Abidjan and lies on th ...

, Ivory Coast, in 1926. She grew up in Tabou and Abidjan. After studying in

Rufisque Rufisque ( ar, روفيسك; Wolof: Tëngeéj) is a city in the Dakar region of western Senegal, at the base of the Cap-Vert Peninsula. It has a population of 179,797 (2002 census). In the past it was an important port city in its own right, but ...

, Senegal, she began a career as a teacher in Ivory Coast, and later became a school principal. She retired from education in 1983. Goba's first children's book, ''Papi'', was published in 1978. Her

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

, Jeanne de Cavally, was inspired by the Cavally River in Tabou, where she spent her childhood. With the publication of ''Papi'', Goba became the third published woman writer in Ivory Coast, after novelists

Simone Kaya Simone Kaya (February 11, 1937 – June 7, 2007) was an Ivorian writer and nurse. She is considered a pioneer among women writers in Ivory Coast, the first woman to enter the country's literary sphere. Biography Kaya was born Simone Lucrece Lami ...

and

Fatou Bolli Fatou Bolli (born 1952) is an Ivorian novelist. She was the second published Ivorian woman writer with her 1976 novel ''Djigbô''. Life and career Bolli was born in 1952 in Abidjan, and worked for a period at the Agence de Coopération Culturel ...

, and the first woman writer of children's literature in

francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

Africa. Her stories, published in French by Les Nouvelles Éditions Africaines (NEA), centred on the everyday lives of children in Africa. Goba died on 7 October 1992, at the age of 66. She is considered a pioneer of children's literature in francophone Africa. A children's literature award named in her honour is presented at the annual International Book Fair of Abidjan.

Works

*
Papi
' (1978) *
Poué-Poué, le petit cabri
' (1981) *
Le réveillon de Boubacar
' (1981) *
Bley et sa bande
' (1985) *
Cocochi, le petit poussin jaune
' (1987)

References

1926 births 1992 deaths Ivorian women writers Ivorian children's writers Ivorian women children's writers People from Bingerville {{IvoryCoast-writer-stub