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Aminata Sow Fall

アミナタ・ソウ・ファル

Aminata Sow Fall

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1941-04-27 （Saint-Louis, Senegal）
Nationality
Senegalese
Languages
Wolof, French

Career

Occupations
novelist, short story writer, teacher, cultural administrator
Active Years
1976-
Affiliations
Director of La Propriété littéraire (Dakar) (1979–1988), Director of the Literature Section, Ministry of Culture (Senegal), Director of the Centre d'Etudes des Civilisations, Founder, Centre Africain d'Animation et d'Echanges Culturels (1987), Founder, Éditions Khoudia (publishing house) (1990)
Memberships
Senegal's Writers' Association (first woman president, 1985), Ordre de Mérite (honor)

Education

University of Paris (Sorbonne)
Modern Languages / Languages
Degree: Licence (Modern Languages)
Period: 1960s
Country: France
Studied Modern Languages at the Sorbonne

Awards

Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire
1980
Work: La Grève des bàttu
Organization: Awarding body (literary organization in France)
Result: 受賞
Prix International Alioune Diop
1982
Work: L'Appel des arènes
Organization: Prix International Alioune Diop (awarding organization: Présence Africaine or related)
Result: 受賞
Honorary doctorate (Mount Holyoke College)
1997
Organization: Mount Holyoke College
Result: 受与（名誉博士）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Le Revenant

1976 Short stories

An early collection of short stories blending Senegalese social concerns with oral traditions.

oral traditionsocial issues

La Grève des bàttu

1979 Novel

A novel addressing poverty and social contradictions, exploring corruption and the plight of the marginalized.

povertycorruptioncommunity
Adaptations
  • [Film] Battu / Cheick Oumar Sissoko (2000)
Translations
  • The Beggars' Strike (trans. Dorothy Blair)

L'Appel des arènes

1982 Novel

A novel about individual conflicts amid the intersection of tradition and modernity.

traditionmodernizationpersonal conflict

Ex-père de la nation

1987 Novel

A novel dealing with political and social themes.

politicssocial critique

Le jujubier du patriarche

1998 Novel

A work that explores family and intergenerational relationships.

familyintergenerational relations

L'Empire du mensonge

2017 Novel

As the title suggests, a novel revolving around falsehood and deceit.

liessocial critique

Bibliography

  • Le Revenant (1976)
  • La Grève des bàttu (1979)
  • L'Appel des arènes (1982)
  • Ex-père de la nation (1987)
  • Douceurs du bercail (1998)
  • Le jujubier du patriarche (1998)
  • Sur le flanc gauche du Belem (2002)
  • Un grain de vie et d'espérance (2002)
  • Festins de la détresse (2005)
  • L'Empire du mensonge (2017)

Adaptations

  • Film 'Battu' (2000) — directed by Cheick Oumar Sissoko, based on La Grève des bàttu
  • Appeared as an actress (Aunt Oumy) in 'Touki Bouki' (1973)

Translations of Works

  • La Grève des bàttu — translated into English as 'The Beggars' Strike' (trans. Dorothy Blair)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realist descriptioninfluence of oral traditionsocial realism
Recurring Motifs
povertycorruptionconflict between tradition and modernityfemale perspectives

Legacy

Regarded as one of the first published women novelists from francophone Black Africa, she is known for works addressing social issues and for promoting cultural and literary development, including support for young writers.

Academic Societies

  • Senegal's Writers' Association

Archives

  • Senegal Directorate of Books and Reading (named the Aminata Sow Fall Prize)

In Popular Culture

  • Known in popular culture through film adaptations such as 'Battu' (2000)
  • Appeared in the film 'Touki Bouki' (1973)

Trivia

  • Considered one of the first published women novelists from francophone Black Africa.
  • Appeared as Aunt Oumy in the film 'Touki Bouki' (1973).
  • Has seven children.