Tété-Michel Kpomassie is an explorer and writer from

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 ...

, and the author of '' An African in Greenland''.

Biography

Kpomassie was born in 1941, in Togo, and received only six years of elementary education. His father, a prominent man in the village, had eight wives and 26 children. When he was a young man, he was collecting

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

s in a tree when he was surprised by a

python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

, and fell to the ground. His father believed that his resulting illness could only be cured by consulting the

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

ess of the python

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

, deep in the forest, and so he was taken, through one long night, into the heart of the snake-infested cult. The cure worked, but the priestess required a payment - Kpomassie would need to be initiated into the snake cult. This would require living for the next seven years in the jungle, among the snakes. It was at this time, recovering from his illness and waiting to be taken back to the jungle, that Kpomassie found a children's book (The Eskimos from Greenland to Alaska by Dr. Robert Gessain) at the local

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

library about

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

. Not only did this strange country have no snakes, but it had no trees in which they might hide. He fell immediately in love with the country and the idea of its native hunters. As soon as he was well, he ran away from home, with the sole idea of somehow reaching

. For the next twelve years he traveled, refusing to stay in one place more than six months, and worked his way through the countries of

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

, into

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and finally, in the mid-1960s, found a boat to

. All the while, he taught himself languages through correspondence courses and made an endless number of friends through his skills as a story-teller and natural charm. The story of his adventures in Greenland can be found in his book, published 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 1977, '' An African in Greenland''. Kpomassie was awarded the Prix Littéraire Francophone International in 1981. In 2003,

Leonard Lopate Leonard Lopate (born September 23, 1940) is an American radio personality. He is the host of the radio talk show ''Leonard Lopate at Large'', broadcast on WBAI, and the former host of the public radio talk show ''The Leonard Lopate Show'', broad ...

interviewed Kpomassie on

WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that di ...

for ''

The Leonard Lopate Show Leonard Lopate (born September 23, 1940) is an American radio personality. He is the host of the radio talk show ''Leonard Lopate at Large'', broadcast on WBAI, and the former host of the public radio talk show ''The Leonard Lopate Show'', bro ...

''. In

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, in September 2009, the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts and Flux Factory organized an exhibition called Arctic Book Club centered on the book, with Kpomassie himself as the guest of honor. Kpomassie currently lives in Nanterre, near

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, but continues to regularly visit

and his native country of

Selected bibliography

*'' An African in Greenland'', originally published in French in 1977, English translation by James Kirkup published in 1981

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kpomassi, Tete-Michel Togolese non-fiction writers Living people French emigrants to Denmark Immigrants to Greenland Togolese emigrants to Greenland 20th-century Togolese writers 21st-century Togolese writers 1941 births