Camara laye biography
Camara Laye
Guinean author (–)
This is a Mandinka name; the family name is Camara and precedes the given names
Camara Laye | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1, Kouroussa, French Guinea |
| Died | February 4, (aged 52) Dakar, Senegal |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | Guinean |
| Notable works | L'Enfant noir Le Regard du roi |
| Notable awards | Prix Charles Veillon |
Camara Laye (January 1, &#;– February 4, ) was a writer from Guinea.
He was the author of The African Child (L'Enfant noir), a novel based loosely on his own childhood, and The Radiance of the King (Le Regard du roi). Both novels are among the earliest major works in Francophone African literature. Camara Laye later worked for the government of newly independent Guinea, but went into voluntary exile over political issues.
Early life
Camara Laye was born in Kouroussa, a town in what was then the colony of French Guinea. His family were Malinke (a Mandé-speaking ethnicity), and he was born into a system where he had to follow his forefathers footsteps who traditionally worked as blacksmiths and goldsmiths.
Camara laye biography wikipedia Laynez, Diego. Camacho, Hector: —: Boxer. He has no chance to earn a living unless he can find his way to the king's court and gain a position there. A second novel, Le Regard du Roi, appeared in and was translated as the Radiance of the King, two years later.His mother was from the village of Tindican, and his immediate childhood surroundings were not predominantly influenced by French culture.
He attended both Quranic and French elementary schools in Kouroussa. At the age of 15 he went to Conakry, the colonial capital, to continue his education. He attended vocational studies in motor mechanics.
In , he travelled to Paris to continue studying mechanics. There he worked and took further courses in engineering and worked towards the baccalauréat.
Writing career
Camara Laye published his first novel in , the autobiographical L'Enfant noir (The African Child, also published as The Dark Child).
Camara laye biography images During his wife's imprisonment, Laye married a second wife—a custom among some Muslim denominations—and had another two children. He decided to remain in Paris after his scholarship had finished and continue his technical education; although he loved literature, he had not yet developed any pretensions of becoming a writer. Layard, Richard —. At the age of 15 he went to Conakry , the colonial capital, to continue his education.It follows his own journey from childhood in Kouroussa, his education in Conakry, and eventual departure for France. The book won the Prix Charles Veillon in L'Enfant noir was followed the next year by Le Regard du roi (The Radiance of the King). The Radiance of the King was described by Kwame Anthony Appiah as "one of the greatest of the African novels of the colonial period."[1]
In Camara Laye returned to Africa, first to Dahomey, then the Gold Coast, and finally to newly independent Guinea, where he held several government posts.
He left Guinea for Senegal in because of political issues, never returning to his home country. In Camara Laye's third novel, Dramouss (A Dream of Africa), was published. In his fourth and final work, Le Maître de la parole&#;– Kouma Lafôlô Kouma (The Guardian of the Word), was published.
Camara laye biography In other projects. Although Camara was his family name, he published his work as Camara Laye, retaining the format used in Guinean schools. References [ edit ]. Early life [ edit ].The novel was based on a Malian epic told by the griot Babou Condé about Sundiata Keita, the 13th-century founder of the Mali Empire.
Authorship controversy
Camara Laye's authorship of both L'Enfant noir and Le Regard du roi was questioned by literary scholar Adele King in her book Rereading Camara Laye.[2][3] She claimed that he had considerable help in writing L'Enfant noir and did not write any part of Le Regard du roi.
She suggests that Francis Soulié, a Belgian literary critic, was the true author of Le Regard du roi, and Laye was merely an intermediary. Scholar F. Abiola Irele, in an article called "In Search of Camara Laye", asserts that the claims are not "sufficiently grounded" to adequately justify that Laye did not author the mentioned work.[4] Christopher L.
Miller examined the controversy in his book Impostors: Literary Hoaxes and Cultural Authenticity; he found King's allegations were credible that Laye's involvement in authorship were minimal.[5]
Death
Camara Laye died in in Dakar of a kidney infection.[6]
See also
References
- ^"The Radiance of the King".
Archived from the original on April 21, Retrieved February 8,
- ^Wilkin, David (). "Adele King. Rereading Camara Laye".Camara laye the african child Laye's greatest success—indeed, his most highly praised text—remains The Radiance of the King. Layne's Butterweed. Widely considered Laye's masterpiece, Le Regard du roi firmly established Laye's reputation as a quality writer. I can still hear my mother wailing.
African Studies Review. 46 (3): – doi/
- ^Larsen (). "Probably Ghostwritten, L'enfant noir: A Lost African Vision for Global Interdependence with 21st-Century Relevance". Research in African Literatures. 52 (1): 52– doi/reseafrilite JSTOR&#;/reseafrilite S2CID&#;
- ^Irele, F.
Abiola (Spring ). "In Search of Camara Laye".
- Camara laye the dark child
- Camara laye biography death
- Lenfant noir camara laye summary
Research in African Literatures. 27 (1): – doi/RAL S2CID&#; Retrieved December 14,
- ^Miller, Christopher L. (). Impostors: Literary Hoaxes and Cultural Authenticity. The University of Chicago Press.
Camara laye the dark child: The African Experience in Literature and Ideology. January 8, Retrieved December 14, Lay, Ken —.
p.&#; ISBN&#;.
- ^Kevin Hodder (November 22, ). "Camara Laye ()". Retrieved March 4,