Marie-Thérèse Julien Lung-Fou (11 May 1909-1981) was the first female sculptor in

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

, a storyteller and poet.

Biography

Born in

Fort-de-France Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a Communes of France, commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the ...

, she received her artistic education at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

, she received a bronze medal at the Paris International Exposition of the Salon of the

Society of French Artists A society is a Social group, group of individuals involved in persistent Social relation, social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same Politics, political authority an ...

for her work (The Offering) in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style. She married her husband Julien at that time, taking the name Lung-Fou to honor her two grandfathers, one born in Dieppe, the other in

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

, and her mixed-race Martinician grandmothers. She was the island's first author of Chinese origin, making a name for herself in Creole theatre, with stories and poems also in Creole. In 1969, she published a play entitled , showing a playful sense of humour in three social

satires Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

, followed in 1973 by . This book translates La Fontaine's French tales into Creole, with illustrations by the author. During an event in 2018 to mark the naming of a library in

Les Trois-Îlets Les Trois-Îlets (; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Twazilé) is a town and commune in the French overseas department and region of Martinique. It was the birthplace of Joséphine (1763–1814), who married Napoleon Bonaparte and became Empress ...

in her honour, the author, Raphaël Confiant spoke of her as a precursor of , a person who accepted multiple identities as her own. She is also known as a collector and writer of créole tales who worked to preserve and maintain creole culture, in Carnival, in her own conduct and through storytelling. In its page about the dedication, the town's site quotes Julien Lung-Fou speaking about her interest in tales: Her writing is used to teach Martinician Creole; it is a part of the literary history of the language as well as an inspiration to contemporary writers.

Works

Books

1956 1950s 1958 1973 1979 1980 (in collaboration with Renée Beuze) 1977 A preface for René Bonneville's (1871-1902) 1980 1980 1980

Theatre

1969 ; three comedies of manners written with Albert Adréa: and .

Poetry

1958 : (poèmes) 1976

References