Eloise Briere
The Cameroonian writer Calixthe Beyala returned to Albany on November 2nd to give a public reading from her latest novel Asseze l'Africaine. One the foremost African writers on the contemporary French publishing scene, Ms. Beyala was the writer-in-residence in the Department of French Studies' French Visitor Program earlier in 1995.
During Ms. Beyala's stay on campus last April, IROW co-sponsored her public reading of her novel The Little Prince of Belleville. Narrated by a young African who lives in the heart of the French capital, the novel is one of he first depictions of the "Africanization" of Paris and of the immigrant communities that are transforming the nature of French society today. The Little of Belleville has just been published in English by Heinemann and contrasts with her earlier novels, C'est le soleil qui m'a brulee and Tu t'appelleras Tanga, set in African urban slums. Newly arrived on the literary scene, African women writers like Ms. Beyala are infusing African literature with new perspectives that emanate from the everyday experiences of women and children.