Anne-Marie Thérèse Fontaine (23 August 1938 – 23 May 2025), known by her pen name Anne Cheynet, was a French author in

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

. Her 1977 work ' is considered a significant contribution to Réunionnais literature, as the first novel to be formally labeled as "Réunionnais."

Biography

Anne-Marie Thérèse Fontaine was born in Saint-Denis,

, in 1938, and spent her childhood in the city's Saint-François neighborhood. She traveled to

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

to study in 1956, remaining abroad until 1963. Back on the island, she worked as a secondary school teacher before getting involved in politics. She later returned to the classroom as a preschool teacher. She published her first book, the poetry collection ''Matanans et Langoutis'', in 1972, followed by her best-known work, the novel ''Les Muselés'', which is considered the first work billed as a "Réunionnais novel." The novel, which has an activist slant, focuses on the lives of the poor in Réunion. Cheynet, who was from a poor white family, drew on her experiences of discrimination during the island's colonial era. Anne Cheynet subsequently published several other books, including the poetry collection ''Ter tout' kouler'' and the short story collection ''Rivages maouls''. In 2022, she released a bilingual story collection illustrated by Claire Ruiz, ''La clé dans zot poche: Histoires semées depuis le Grand Sentier''. Between 2001 and 2004, she produced three CDs of

oral storytelling Oral storytelling is the human activity and tradition of intimate storytelling, dating back before ancient times, in which a speaker verbally relates a story to an audience in physically close proximity. Often, the participants are seated toge ...

. She wrote in both French and Creole. Cheynet died on 23 May 2025, at the age of 86.

Selected works

* ''Matanans et Langoutis'' (poetry), 1972 * ''Les Muselés'' (novel), L'Harmattan, 1977 * ''Ter tout' kouler : Poème pour la terre multicolore'' (poetry), vol. 1, Ravine des Sables, ADMV, 1992 * ''Rivages maouls : histoires d'Annabelle'' (autobiographical), vol. 1, Océan, 1994 * ''La clé dans zot poche: Histoires semées depuis le Grand Sentier'' (stories), Éditions Poisson Rouge, 2022

References

External links

*
Interview with Anne Cheynet
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheynet, Anne 1938 births 2025 deaths Writers from Réunion 20th-century French writers 20th-century French women writers Women writers from Réunion