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Article from Publication Columbia Global Centers on April 3, 2024 by Dawn Fulton, Professor of French Studies at Smith College:

Tribute: Maryse Condé

Maryse Condé (February 11, 1934 – April 2, 2024) was a Guadeloupean novelist, critic, playwright, and Professor Emerita of French at Columbia University. April 03, 2024

Maryse Condé

Maryse Condé (February 11, 1934 – April 2, 2024) taught for over a decade in the Department of French at Columbia University. Her writing and scholarship were essential to the transformation of “French studies,” once centered exclusively on metropolitan French literature, now often referred to as “Francophone studies,” a field that explores French language, literature, and culture from many countries.

During her tenure at Columbia, “She deployed an enormous activity organizing public events for students and scholars [...], and single-handedly established the field of Francophone literature at Columbia,” recalls Pierre Force, Professor of French and History at Columbia.

One such student is Maboula Soumahoro, associate professor in the English Department of the University of Tours, who, with Pierre Force, discussed their friendship and teaching experiences with Maryse Condé in a Library Chat, hosted by the Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris. They spoke about her unclassifiable œuvre, her significant contribution to Caribbean, African, and women's literature…and her great cooking.

As a Fellow at the Institute for Ideas and Imagination, Maboula Soumahoro is currently working on a screen adaptation of Maryse Condé's novel Ségou. On Thursday, April 4, she will discuss this work-in-progress in a public lecture as part of the SNF Rendez-vous de l’Institut. Register here.

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