Sokhna Benga (Mbengue) (born 12 December 1967, in

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 ...

) is a

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

ese

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

. She writes in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Biography

Sokhna Benga grew up in a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

family. She studied at

Dakar University 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 Cheikh ...

, Senegal, earning a master's degree in Business Law. She later went to

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 ...

, where she obtained a DESS in Maritime Law and lived for almost ten years. She joined

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...

associations and worked with marginalized people, particularly students. Returning to Dakar in 2001, she became literary director of the publishing house Nouvelles éditions africaines du Sénégal (NEAS). She is a member of the

Société des gens de lettres Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

, la Maison des Ecrivains, the

ese writer's association (AES), and the French writers association ( ADELF). In 2004 she became a member of the French

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

(Order of Arts and Letters).

Works

*2004: ''Waly NGuilane, le protégé de Roog'' (parts 1 & 2) *2003: ''La balade du Sabador'' - Grand Prix of the President 2000, Special Mention of the Grand Prix of Black Africa 2001). *1990: ''Le Dard du secret'' - Grand Prix of the Mayor of Dakar 1988.

References

External links

"Interviews"
Department of French Studies, University of Warwick.
"Trois questions à Sokhna BENGA, écrivain, éditrice: ‘L’écriture n’a pas de sexe’"
''Wal Fadjiri''.

''Walf fadjri'', 28 September 2007. Senegalese novelists 1967 births Living people Cheikh Anta Diop University alumni Senegalese poets Senegalese women poets Senegalese women writers {{Senegal-writer-stub