Véronique Tadjo (born 1955) is a writer, poet, novelist, and artist from

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

. Having lived and worked in many countries within the African continent and

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

, she feels herself to be

pan-African Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the Trans-Sa ...

, in a way that is reflected in the subject matter, imagery and allusions of her work.

Biography

Early years and education

Born in Paris, France, Véronique Tadjo is the daughter of an Ivorian civil servant and a French painter and sculptor. Brought up in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

, Côte d'Ivoire, she travelled widely with her family. Tadjo completed her BA degree at the

University of Abidjan A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

and her doctorate at the Sorbonne in African-American Literature and Civilization. In 1983, she went to

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

in Washington, D.C., on a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

research scholarship.

Career

In 1979, Tadjo chose to teach English at the Lycée Moderne de

Korhogo Korhogo (N'Ko: ߞߙߐߞߐ߫, ''Krokо̄'') is a city in northern Ivory Coast. It is the seat of both Savanes District and Poro Region. It is also a commune and the seat of and a sub-prefecture of Korhogo Department. In the 2014 census, the city ...

(secondary school) in the North of Côte d'Ivoire. She subsequently became a lecturer in the English department at the University of Abidjan until 1993. In 1984, she published her first book of poetry, ''Latérite / Red Earth'', winning a literary prize from the Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique. Writing by Tadjo was included in the 1992 anthology ''

Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora ...

'', edited by

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...

. In 1998, she participated in the project "Rwanda: Ecrire par devoir de mémoire" (Rwanda: Writing for the sake of memory) with a group of African writers who travelled to Rwanda to testify to the Rwandan genocide and its aftermath. Her book ''L'Ombre d'Imana'' (2000) emerged from her time in Rwanda. In the past few years, she has facilitated workshops in writing and illustrating children's books in

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

, Haiti,

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

, the United States, and South Africa. In 2006 she participated in the fall residency of the

International Writing Program The International Writing Program (IWP) is a writing residency for international artists in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Since 2014, the program offers online courses to many writers and poets around the world. Since its inception in 1967, the I ...

at the University of Iowa. Tadjo has lived in Paris, Lagos, Mexico City, Nairobi and London. She was based in Johannesburg after 2007 as head of French Studies at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

Awards and Honours

Tadjo received the Literary Prize of L' Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique in 1983 and the

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

Prize in 1993 for '' Mamy Wata and the Monster'', which was also chosen as one of Africa's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century, one of only four children's books selected. In 2005, Tadjo 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 ...

and in 2016 the

Bernard Dadié national grand prize for literature The Bernard Dadié national grand prize for literature awards in Côte d'Ivoire since 2014, "the major writers who give meaning and energy to national letters". Created by the Ivorian Ministry of Culture and Francophonie, it is open only to individ ...

. Her 2021 book ''In the Company of Men'' won the ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize for Fiction. In a June 2024 graduation ceremony at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, Tadjo was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(DLitt).

Works

Poetry

*''Latérite'' (

Éditions Hatier Hatier () is a French publishing house specializing in scholarly works and educational materials, now integrated into the Hachette group. Founded in 1880 by Alexandre Hatier, Hatier obtains 20% of its sales through international affiliates in B ...

"Monde noir Poche", 1984). Bi-lingual edition, ''Red Earth – Latérite''; translated by Peter S. Thompson (Washington University Press, 2006) *''A vol d'oiseau'' (Éditions Harmattan; 1986); translated by

Wangui wa Goro Wangui wa Goro (born 1961) is a Kenyan academic, social critic, researcher, translator and writer based in the UK. As a public intellectual she has an interest in the development of African languages and literatures, as well as being consistently ...

with the title ''

As The Crow Flies The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points. Etymology The meaning of the expression is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in the Charles Dickens novel ''Oliver Twist'' (1838): ...

'' (

Heinemann African Writers Series The African Writers Series (AWS) is a collection of books written by African novelists, poets and politicians. Published by Heinemann, 359 books appeared in the series between 1962 and 2003. The series has provided an international audience fo ...

, 2001) *''A mi-chemin'' (Éditions Harmattan, 2000)

Novels

*''Le Royaume aveugle'' (Éditions Harmattan, 1991); translated by

Janis Mayes Dr. Janis Alene Mayes is an American author, literary critic and translator and a professor in Africana literature. Early life Mayes gained her undergraduate degree in French literature at Fisk University. She was a Fulbright Scholar. She had ad ...

as ''The Blind Kingdom'' (Ayebia Clarke Publishing, 2008) *''Champs de bataille et d'amour'' (Éditions Présence Africaine; Les Nouvelles Éditions Ivoiriennes, 1999) *''L'ombre d'Imana: Voyages jusqu'au bout du Rwanda'', Actes Sud, 2000); translated by Veronique Wakerley as '' The Shadow of Imana: Travels in the Heart of Rwanda'' (Heinemann AWS, 2002) *''Reine Pokou'' (Actes Sud, 2005); translated by Amy B. Reid as ''Queen Pokou'' (Ayebia Clarke Publishing, 2009) *''Loin de mon père'' (Actes Sud, 2010); translated by Amy B. Reid as ''Far from My Father'' (University of Virginia Press/CARAF, 2014) *''In the Company of Men'' (Other Press, 2021, ); translated by John Cullen

Children's

*''La Chanson de la vie'' (1990) *''Lord of the Dance: An African Retelling'' (''Le Seigneur de la Danse''; Nouvelles Editions Ivoiriennes, 1993; 1988) *''Grandma Nana'' (''Grand-Mère Nanan''; Nouvelles Editions Ivoiriennes, 1996; 2000) *''Masque, raconte-moi'' (Nouvelles Editions Ivoiriennes) *''Si j´étais roi, si j´étais reine'' (Nouvelles Editions Ivoiriennes); translated by the author as ''If I Were a King, If I Were a Queen'' (London: Milet Publishing, 2002) *''Mamy Wata et le Monstre'' (''Mamy Wata and the Monster'') (Nouvelles Editions Ivoiriennes, 1993; Prix UNICEF, 1993; bi-lingual edition London: Milet Publishing, 2000) *''Le Grain de Maïs Magique'' (Nouvelles Editions Ivoiriennes, 1996) *''Le Bel Oiseau et la Pluie'' (Nouvelles Editions Ivoiriennes, 1998) *''Nelson Mandela: "Non à L'Apartheid"'' (Actes Sud Junior, 2010) *''Ayanda, la petite fille qui ne voulait pas grandir'' (Actes Sud Junior, 2007; Nouvelles Editions Ivoiriennes/CEDA)

References

External links

Véronique Tadjo official website"Véronique Tadjo: Discussion with an African Voice"
IntoFrench.org
Webcast at the Library of Congress
17 October 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tadjo, Veronique 1955 births 20th-century novelists 20th-century poets 20th-century women writers 21st-century novelists 21st-century poets 21st-century women writers French people of Ivorian descent International Writing Program alumni Ivorian children's book illustrators Ivorian illustrators 21st-century Ivorian artists 21st-century Ivorian women Ivorian poets Ivorian women artists Ivorian women children's writers Ivorian women illustrators Women children's book illustrators Ivorian women novelists Ivorian women poets Living people People from Abidjan University of Paris alumni Ivorian expatriates in Nigeria Ivorian expatriates in Mexico Ivorian expatriates in South Africa Ivorian expatriates in the United Kingdom Academic staff of the University of the Witwatersrand Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny alumni Academic staff of Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny Artists from Paris Ivorian pan-Africanists Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire winners