Ahmadou Kourouma

Ahmadou Kourouma was a prominent writer, playwright, and activist born in 1927 in Boundiali, Côte d'Ivoire. Educated in Mali, he served in French military campaigns for several years before moving to Paris and Lyon to study Mathematics. Although he returned to Côte d'Ivoire after it won its independence in 1960, he remained an outspoken critic of the country's government, leading to his brief imprisonment. He published his first novel The Suns of Independence in 1968, winning the Grand prix...See more

Ahmadou Kourouma was a prominent writer, playwright, and activist born in 1927 in Boundiali, Côte d'Ivoire. Educated in Mali, he served in French military campaigns for several years before moving to Paris and Lyon to study Mathematics. Although he returned to Côte d'Ivoire after it won its independence in 1960, he remained an outspoken critic of the country's government, leading to his brief imprisonment. He published his first novel The Suns of Independence in 1968, winning the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire in 1969 and the Prix Maillé-Latour-Landry in 1970. Rejected by French publishers for its radical inclusion of the Malinke language, it was first published in Canada and translated into English in 1981. Despite this controversy, his novels continued to find much success in France. His 2000 novel, Allah n'est pas obligé , won the prestigious Prix Renaudot and Prix Goncourt des Lycéens awards. Kourouma died in 2003. See less