Sadamba Tcha-Koura (born 1960 in Bowounda), pen-name Sami Tchak, is a

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

lese writer.

Biography

After a dissertation in philosophy at the

University of Lomé The University of Lomé (french: Université de Lomé; abbreviated UL) is the largest university in Togo. Located in the city of Lomé, it was founded in 1970 as University of Benin (french: Université du Bénin) and changed its name to the Unive ...

in 1983, Sami Tchak taught in a high school for three years. He arrived in

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 ...

in 1986 to start his sociology studies, and obtained his PhD at the

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon ...

in 1993. His research on

prostitution in Cuba Prostitution in Cuba is not officially illegal; however, there is legislation against pimps, sexual exploitation of minors, and pornography. Sex tourism has existed in the country, both before and after the 1959 Cuban Revolution. Many Cubans do not ...

carried him to the island for seven months in 1996, resulting in the publication of the essay "Prostitution à Cuba. Communisme, ruses and débrouilles" (foreword by the Cuban writer

Eduardo Manet Eduardo Manet (born 19 June 1930) is a Cuban-born novelist and playwright writing in French. His work has been translated into over 20 languages. Life Born in Santiago de Cuba, Manet lived in Paris and Italy in the 1950s. In 1960 he returned to ...

). The discovery of

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

and

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n culture significantly influenced his literary choices. These places and the great writers who come from them offered him new horizons of writing. Since the novel ''Hermina'', published by Gallimard in 2003, all his works take place in an imaginary

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n setting, which actually is far more similar to Africa. Besides the short stories and articles that has appeared in several magazines and revues, he has published six novels and four essays. In 2004, Sami Tchak won the '' Grand Prix of Black African Literature'' for the entire range of his work. His novels have been translated into Spanish, German and Italian.

Works

Novels

*''Femme infidèle'', Lomé, Nouvelles Editions Africaines, 1988. *''Place des Fêtes'', Paris, Gallimard, 2001. *''Hermina'', Paris, Gallimard, 2003. *'' La fête des masques'', Paris, Gallimard, 2004. *''Le paradis des chiots'', Paris,

Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published f ...

, 2006. *''Filles de Mexico'', Paris, Mercure de France, 2008.

Essays

* ''Africana. Raccontare il continente al di là degli stereotipi, Chiara Piaggio, Feltrinelli 2021. *"La sexualité féminine en Afrique", Paris, L’Harmattan, 1999. *"La prostitution à Cuba", Paris, L’Harmattan,1999. *"L’Afrique à l’épreuve du sida", Paris, L’Harmattan, 2000. *"Formation d’une élite paysanne au Burkina Faso", Paris, L’Harmattan, 1995.

References

External links

*http://www.africansuccess.org/visuFiche.php?id=232&lang=en {{DEFAULTSORT:Tchak, Sami 1960 births Living people Togolese writers University of Paris alumni 20th-century Togolese writers 21st-century Togolese writers University of Lomé alumni