Louis Camara (Abdou Karim Camara) is a Senegalese writer known for his

short stories 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 t ...

and tales.

Biography

Louis Camara, the storyteller of Ifà as he is popularly known, was born in 1950 at the edge of the

Senegal River ,french: Fleuve Sénégal) , name_etymology = , image = Senegal River Saint Louis.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Fishermen on the bank of the Senegal River estuary at the outskirts of Saint-Louis, Senegal ...

in Saint Louis, located 270 km from

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 ...

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

. Researcher, novelist, and short story writer, Camara is passionate about

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

civilization A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system). Ci ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

which remains its main source of inspiration,. He taught at Université

Gaston Berger Gaston Berger (; 1 October 1896 – 13 November 1960) was a French futurist but also an industrialist, a philosopher and a state manager. He is mainly known for his remarkably lucid analysis of Edmund Husserl's phenomenology and for his studies on ...

in Saint Louis,

. He has attended numerous festivals and was a guest at the Francophonies en Limousin Festival in

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Until 2000, he worked at th
Musée du Centre de Recherche et de documentation du Sénégal
CRDS) based in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. In 1996, he was awarded th
Grand Prix du président de la république pour les lettres
the highest literary honor in Senegal for his most famous work Le Choix de l’Ori, “a tale that highlights the architecture, the rhythm, and style of black Africa”, according to

Abdou Diouf Abdou Diouf ( ; Serer: ; born 7 September 1935)Biography at Socialist Party website

then President of the
Republic of Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...
. A revised and edited version of the novel is published by
Amalion Amalion is a multilingual independent academic publishing house based in Dakar, Senegal. History Amalion is an independent pan-African publishing house based in Dakar, created in 2009. Amalion publishes scholarly knowledge from various parts of Af ...
in 2015.

Works
* ''Le Choix de l’Ori'', Editions
Amalion Amalion is a multilingual independent academic publishing house based in Dakar, Senegal. History Amalion is an independent pan-African publishing house based in Dakar, created in 2009. Amalion publishes scholarly knowledge from various parts of Af ...
, Dakar, 2015, () * ''Au-dessus des dunes'', Editions Athena édif, 2014, () * ''Histoire d’Iyewa ou les pièges de l’amour'', Xamal Publishing, St. Louis 1998 () * ''Kankan le maléfique'', Éditions Hurtubise HMH Quebec () * ''Le tambour d’Orunmila'', NEAS, Dakar, 2003, () * ''La tragique histoire d’Aganoribi'', Éditions Kalaama Dakar, 2005 () * ''Il pleut sur Saint-Louis'', short stories, NEAS Dakar, 2007, () * ''Saint-Louis du Sénégal'',
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...
, Editions Print Book, () * ''La forêt aux mille demons'' (French adaptation of "A Forest of a Thousand Daemons" by
Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...
) EENAS
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 ...
, 2010 ()

Awards
* Grand prix du président de la république du
Sénégal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...
pour les lettres in 1996, * Leopold Sedar Senghor Foundation prize for the best short story in 1997, * Chevalier des Palmes Académiques de la république française in 2010.

References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camara, Louis 21st-century Senegalese writers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Saint-Louis, Senegal Chevaliers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques