Jean Pliya (July 21, 1931 – May 14, 2015) was a Beninese
playwright and
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
.
Life
Born in what was then
Dahomey, Pliya was educated at the
University of Dakar
Cheikh Anta Diop University (french: Université Cheikh Anta Diop or UCAD), also known as the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, is a university in Dakar, Senegal. It is named after the Senegalese physicist, historian and anthropologist Cheik ...
and then the
University of Toulouse
The University of Toulouse (french: Université de Toulouse) was a university in the French city of Toulouse that was established by papal bull in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the Frenc ...
. He graduated from the second in 1957 and in 1959 returned to his homeland to teach. He went on to hold ministerial positions in the Benin government.
Work
His work often considers colonial history and issues of values. He has also attempted to translate the
Fon people's tales for a French speaking audience.
Publications
* ''L'Arbre fétiche'', recueil de nouvelles (L'Arbre fétiche, La Voiture rouge, L'homme qui avait tout donné, le Gardien de nuit), Yaoundé, Éditions CLE, 1971
* ''Kondo le requin'', consacré au roi
Behanzin, Yaoundé, CLE, 1981 (
Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire)
* ''Les Chimpanzés amoureux'', ''Le Rendez-vous'', ''La Palabre de la dernière chance'', nouvelles, les Classiques africains, 1977
* ''La Secrétaire particulière'', Yaoundé, Éditions CLE, 1973
* ''Les Tresseurs de cordes'', Paris, Hatier, Abidjan, CEDA, 1987
* ''La Fille têtue'', contes et récits traditionnels du Bénin, Abidjan ; Dakar ; Lomé, Nouvelles Éditions africaines, 1982.
References
External links
Official site
Beninese dramatists and playwrights
1931 births
People from Djougou
Cheikh Anta Diop University alumni
Beninese male short story writers
Beninese short story writers
Beninese translators
University of Toulouse alumni
20th-century dramatists and playwrights
Government ministers of Benin
20th-century translators
2015 deaths
20th-century short story writers
20th-century male writers
20th-century Beninese writers
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