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Sony Lab'ou Tansi (5 July 1947 – 14 June 1995), born Marcel Ntsoni, was a Congolese novelist, short-story writer, playwright, and poet in
French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...
. Though he was only 47 when he died, Tansi remains one of the most prolific African writers and the most internationally renowned practitioner of the "New African Writing." His novel ''The Antipeople'' won the
Grand Prix Littéraire d'Afrique Noire The Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire (one of the major literary prizes of Black Africa for Francophone Literature) is a literary prize presented every year by the ADELF, the Association of French Language Writers for a French original text ...
. In his later years, he ran a theatrical company in
Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...
in the
Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
.


Life and career

The oldest of seven children, Tansi was born in the former
Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...
, in the village of Kimwaanza, just south of the city now known as
Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...
in the modern day
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
. He was initially educated in the local language,
Kikongo Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Angola. It is a tonal language. The vast majority of present-day speakers li ...
, and only began speaking French at the age of twelve, when his family moved to Congo-Brazzaville, today known as the
Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
. He attended the École Normale Supérieure d'Afrique Centrale in Brazzaville where he studied literature, and upon completing his education in 1971, he became a French and English teacher in Kindamba and
Pointe-Noire Pointe-Noire (; , with the letter d following French spelling standards) is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department and a commune since the 2002 Constitution. B ...
. When the young teacher began writing for the theatre later that year, he adopted the pen name "Sony La'bou Tansi" as a tribute to
Tchicaya U Tam'si Tchicaya U Tam'si (born Gérald-Félix Tchicaya, 25 August 1931 – 22 April 1988) was a Congolese author; his pen name means "small paper that speaks for its country" in Kikongo. Life Born in Mpili, near Brazzaville, French Equatorial Africa ...
, a fellow Congolese writer who wrote politically charged poetry about oppressive nature of the state. In the early part of his career, Tansi continued to support himself through teaching and he worked as an English instructor at the Collège Tchicaya-Pierre in Pointe Noire while working on his first two novels and several plays. In 1979 he founded the Rocado Zulu Theatre, which would go on to perform his plays in Africa, Europe, and the United States in addition to appearing regularly at the Festival International des Francophonies in
Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...
. Through theater, Tansi has been able to convey the possibilities theatre has in the aspect of political change through his works. Sony’s plays have shown how theatre functions politically through his critiques of the post-colonial world in Africa through theater. Tansi's works focus on political critiques of colonial viewpoints being present in what is supposed to be post-colonial Congo. This is said to be seen in some of his works by using subtle messaging with the naming of cities in his play Marie Samar (1963). Within the play you can see the connection from the characters to Tansi's references to colonized and post colonized Congo. His works allow for telling a first hand experience of colonial rule in Congo and how it affected the lives of the people living there at the time before and after. After teaching for many years, Tansi moved on to government work, serving as an administrator in several ministries in Brazzaville. In the late 1980s he allied with opposition leader
Bernard Kolélas Bernard Bakana Kolélas (12 June 1933Alain Kounzilat, , Kimpwanza (planeteafrique.com) . – 13 November 2009Thierry Noungou"Parlement - Bernard Bakana Kolélas décédé ce 13 novembre à Paris", ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', 13 November ...
to found the Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development (MCDDI), a political party acting against the communist regime of President
Denis Sassou Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who has served as president of the Republic of the Congo since 1997. He also previously served as president from 1979 to 1992. Sassou Nguesso he ...
and his
Congolese Labour Party The Congolese Party of Labour (, PCT) is the ruling party of the Republic of the Congo. Founded in 1969 by Marien Ngouabi, it was originally a pro-Soviet, Marxist–Leninist vanguard party which founded the People's Republic of the Congo. It to ...
. Left-wing forces succeeded in pushing President Sassou toward democracy, and former Prime Minister Pascal Lissouba returned from an extended exile and was elected President in the August 1992 elections. In that same year, Tansi was elected to parliament as a deputy for the Makélékélé arrondissement of Brazzaville, but his participation in opposition politics angered President Lissouba, and his passport was withdrawn in 1994. Tansi soon discovered that he had contracted the AIDS virus, but Lissouba's travel restrictions prevented him from going abroad to seek treatment for himself and his wife. Tansi's partner, Pierrette, died from the disease on 31 May 1995 and Tansi followed 14 days later.


Bibliography

* ''Conscience de tracteur'' (Dakar: Nouvelles Éditions Africaines / Yaoundé: Clé, 1979). * '' La vie et demie: Roman'' (Paris: Seuil, 1979). * ''Je soussigné cardiaque'' (Paris: Haitier, 1981). * ''L'état honteux: Roman'' (Paris: Seuil, 1981). * ''La parenthèse de sang'' (Paris: Haitier, 1981) * ''L'anté-peuple'' (Paris: Seuil, 1983) * ''Les sept solitudes de Lorsa Lopez: Roman'' (Paris: Seuil, 1985) * ''Cinq ans de littératures africaines: 1979-1984'' (Paris: C.L.E.F, 1985). * ''Un citoyen de ce siècle'' (Paris: Equateur, 1986)comprises "Lettre ouverte à l'humanité" and ''Antoine m'a vendu son destin.'' * ''Francophonie: 2 pièces'' (Paris: L'avant-scène, 1987)comprises Moi, veuve de l'empire, by Sony Labou Tansi, and Témoignage contre un homme stérile, by Fatima Gallaire. * ''Le coup de vieux: Drâme en deux souffles'' (Paris & Dakar: Présence Africaine, 1988). * ''Les yeux du volcan: Roman'' (Paris: Seuil, 1988). * ''Qui a mangé Madame d'Avoine Bergotha?'' (Carnières, Belgium: Lansman, 1989). * ''La résurrection rouge et blanche de Roméo et Juliette'' (Arles: Actes Sud, 1990). * ''Une chouette petite vie bien osée'' (Carnières, Belgium: Lansman, 1992). * ''Théâtre, 3 volumes'' (Carnières, Belgium: Lansman, 1995–1998)v1 comprises ''Qu'ils le disent, qu'elles le beuglent'' and ''Qui a mangé Madame d'Avoine Bergotha?''; v 2 ''Bevat: Une vie en arbre et chars . . . bonds and Une chouette petite vie bien osée''; v3 ''Monologue d'or et noces d'argent and Le trou.'' * ''Le commencement des douleurs'' (Paris: Seuil, 1995). * ''Poèmes et vents lisses'' (Paris: Le Bruit des Autres, 1995). * ''L'autre monde: Écrits inédits, edited by Nicolas Martin-Granel and Bruno Tilliette'' (Paris: Revue Noire, 1997). * ''L'atelier de Sony Labou Tansi,'' ed. Martin-Granel and Greta Rodriguez-Antoniotti' (Paris: Revue Noire, 2005)--comprises v1, ''Correspondance: Lettres à José Pivin (1973-1976)'' and ''Lettres à Françoise Ligier (1973-1983)''; v2, ''Poésie''; and v3, ''Machin la hernie: Roman.'' * ''Paroles inédites: La rue des mouches (comédie tragique), Entretiens, Lettres à Sony,'' ed. Bernard Magnier'' (Montreuil-sous-Bois: Éditions Théâtrales, 2005).''


English translations

* ''Parentheses of Blood, a play.'' Trans. Lorraine Alexander Veach. New York: Ubu Repertory Theater Publications, 1986. * ''The Antipeople, a novel''. Trans. J.A. Underwood. and M. Boyars. New York: Kampmann, 1988. * ''"An Open Letter To Africans" c/o The Punic One-Party State, an essay.'' Trans. John Conteh-Morgran. Published in Tejumola Olaniyan and Ato Quayson's African Literature: An Anthology of Criticism and Theory. Malden: Blackwell Publishers, 1990. * ''The Seven Solitudes of Lorsa Lopez''. Trans. Clive Wake. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 1995. * ''Life and a Half'', trans. Alison Dundy (Indiana University Press, 2011) * ''The Shameful State'', trans. Dominick Thomas (Indiana University Press, 2016)


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tansi, Sony Labou 1947 births 1995 deaths People from Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to the Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo dramatists and playwrights Republic of the Congo poets Republic of the Congo novelists Republic of the Congo screenwriters Republic of the Congo short story writers AIDS-related deaths in the Republic of the Congo Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire winners