Tchicaya U Tam'si
| Tchicaya U Tam'si | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Gérald-Félix Tchicaya August 25, 1931 Mpili, French Equatorial Africa (now Republic of the Congo) |
| Died | April 22, 1988 |
| Occupation | Poet, Journalist |
Tchicaya U Tam'si (25 August 1931 - 22 April 1988 ) was a Congolese author born Gérald-Félix Tchicaya; his pen name means "small paper that speaks for a country" in Kikongo.
Life
Born in Mpili, near Brazzaville, French Equatorial Africa (now Congo) in 1931, U Tam'si spent his childhood in France, where he worked as a journalist until he returned to his homeland in 1960. Back in Congo, he continued to work as a journalist; during this time he maintained contact to the politician Patrice Lumumba. In 1961, he started to work for UNESCO.
He died in 1988 in Bazancourt, Oise, near Paris.[1]
Since 1989, the Tchicaya U Tam'si Prize for African Poetry is awarded every two years in the Moroccan city of Asilah.
Style
U Tam'si's poetry incorporates elements of surrealism; it often has vivid historic images, and comments African life and society, as well as humanity in general.
Selected works
- Ces fruits si doux de l'arbre a pain, 1990
- Les Cancrelats, 1980
- La Veste d'intérieur suivi de Notes de veille, 1977
- L'Arc musical, 1969
- Le Ventre, 1964
- Épitomé, 1962
- À triche-coeur, 1960
- Feu de brousse, 1957
- Le Mauvais Sang, 1955
References
- ↑ "Tchicaya U Tam’si. Congolese poet", Encyclopædia Britannica.