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Ananda Devi

アナンダ・デヴィ

Ananda Devi

Pen Names: Ananda Devi（Pen name used for publications (birth name Ananda Devi Nirsimloo-Anenden)）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1957-03-23 （Trois-Boutiques, Grand Port District, Mauritius）
Nationality
Mauritian
Languages
French
Residence History
Mauritius (birth and childhood) → London (studies at SOAS) → Brazzaville (residence in the Congo) → Ferney-Voltaire (France, from 1989)

Career

Occupations
Author, Poet, Translator
Active Years
1977-2025

Education

School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London
Social sciences (details unknown) / Social Anthropology
Degree: PhD
Country: United Kingdom
Holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from SOAS (exact year not clearly published)

Awards

Neustadt International Prize for Literature
2024
Organization: Neustadt International Prize (World Literature Today / University of Oklahoma)
Result: 受賞
Prix des cinq continents de la Francophonie
2006
Work: Ève de ses décombres (Eve Out of Her Ruins)
Organization: Organisation internationale de la Francophonie
Result: 受賞
Prix Femina des lycéens
2021
Work: Le Rire des déesses
Organization: Prix Femina
Result: 受賞
Prix Louis-Guilloux
Work: Le Sari vert
Result: 受賞
Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres
2010
Organization: French Government
Result: 叙勲
Prix de la langue française
2023
Organization: France (awarding organization)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Solstices (short story collection)

1977 Short story collection

Her debut short story collection, containing early explorations of themes she develops later in her work.

memoryidentityfamily

Le poids des êtres (short story collection)

1987 Short story collection

A collection portraying social marginalization and personal anguish; some stories were translated into English and anthologized.

marginalizationgenderpoverty
Translations
  • English translation 'Lakshmi's Gift' (included in The Heinemann Book of African Women's Writing)

Rue la Poudrière (novel)

1988 Novel

A 1988 novel exploring the complex dynamics of urban life and society.

urban lifesocial relations

Ève de ses décombres (Eve Out of Her Ruins)

2006 Novel

A novel about Eve's suffering and attempts at renewal amid violence, loss, and social oppression. It won several prizes and was adapted for film.

violenceoppressionrenewalwomen's experience
Adaptations
  • [Film] Film adaptation of Ève de ses décombres / Sharvan Anenden / Harrikrisna Anenden
Translations
  • English translation 'Eve Out of Her Ruins' translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman (2016)

Indian Tango (novel)

2007 Novel

A novel addressing emotions and histories of the Indian diaspora; published in English translation.

diasporamemorycultural disjunction
Translations
  • English translation 'Indian Tango' translated by Jean Anderson (2011)

Le Sari vert (novel)

2009 Novel

A work where social and historical backgrounds intersect with individual fate. Winner of the Prix Louis-Guilloux.

historyindividual and society

Le Rire des déesses (novel)

2021 Novel

One of her recent major works; recipient of the Prix Femina des lycéens.

femininitymyth and modernity

Bibliography

  • Solstices (1977)
  • Le poids des êtres (1987)
  • Rue la Poudrière (1988)
  • Le Voile de Draupadi (1993)
  • La fin des pierres et des âges (1993)
  • L'Arbre-fouet (1997)
  • Moi, L'Interdite (2000)
  • Pagli (2001)
  • Soupir (2002)
  • La Vie de Joséphin le fou (2003)
  • Le Long Désir (2003, poetry)
  • Ève de ses décombres (2006)
  • Indian Tango (2007)
  • Le Sari vert (2009)
  • Quand la nuit consent à me parler (2011, poetry)
  • Les hommes qui me parlent (2011)
  • Les Jours vivants (2013)
  • L'ambassadeur triste (2015)
  • Ceux du large (2017, trilingual poetry)
  • L'illusion poétique (2017)
  • Manger l'autre (2018)
  • Danser sur tes Braises suivi de Six décennies (2020, poetry)
  • Fardo (2020)
  • Le Rire des déesses (2021)
  • Deux malles et une marmite (2021)
  • Sylvia P. (2022)
  • Le Jour des cameléons (2023)

Adaptations

  • Film adaptation of Ève de ses décombres (directors: Sharvan Anenden, Harrikrisna Anenden)

Translations by Author

  • English translation of Pagli by Ananda Devi (Rupa Publishers, 2007)

Translations of Works

  • Ève de ses décombres → Eve Out of Her Ruins (translation by Jeffrey Zuckerman, 2016)
  • Indian Tango → Indian Tango (translation by Jean Anderson, 2011)
  • Le Long Désir → The Long Desire (translation by Rachel Wysocki, 2014)
  • Les Jours vivants → The Living Days (translation by Jeffrey Zuckerman, 2019)
  • Quand la nuit consent à me parler → When the Night Agrees to Speak to Me (translation by Kazim Ali, 2020/2022)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical and experimental prosepolyphonic and fragmentary narrationrealism linking social phenomena with interior states
Recurring Motifs
migration and diasporafemale bodies and oppressionmemory and traumapoverty and marginalization

Legacy

Ananda Devi is a highly regarded writer in Francophone and international literature, known for incisive portrayals of violence, oppression, diaspora and women's experiences. She has received multiple international awards; several works have been translated into English and adapted for film.

In Popular Culture

  • Recognition in visual culture through the film adaptation of Ève de ses décombres

Trivia

  • At age 15 she won a short story competition run by Radio France Internationale.
  • Full name Ananda Devi Nirsimloo-Anenden; married to film director Harrikrisna Anenden.
  • Debuted in 1977 with the short story collection Solstices.