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Ken Bugul

ケン・ブグル

Ken Bugul

Pen Names: Ken Bugul（Pen name (in Wolof meaning "one who is unwanted")）, Mariètou Mbaye Biléoma（Birth name）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
Ndoucoumane, Senegal
Nationality
Senegalese
Languages
French, Wolof
Religion
Islam
Residence History
Ndoucoumane (birthplace) → Thiès (secondary education) → Dakar → Belgium (studies on scholarship) → Nairobi (worked for IPPF) → Brazzaville (worked for IPPF) → Lomé (worked for IPPF) → Benin (after marriage) → Senegal (returned and residing) → Zürich (Writer in Residence 2017)

Career

Occupations
novelist, writer, NGO worker
Active Years
1982-

Education

Malick Sy Secondary School (Thiès)
Country: Senegal
Completed secondary education in Thiès
Higher education institution in Belgium (scholarship)
Country: Belgium
Studied in Belgium on a scholarship; specific institution and dates unknown

Awards

Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire
2000
Work: Riwan; or, the Sandy Track
Result: 受賞
Writer in Residence (Zurich)
2017
Organization: Writers in Residence (Zürich)
Result: 任命

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Abandoned Baobab

1982 Autobiographical novel

An autobiographical work recounting the life of a Senegalese woman; addresses colonialism, identity and family relations.

autobiographycritique of colonialismidentitywomen's experiences
Translations
  • English translation: The Abandoned Baobab (1991)

Ashes and Embers

1994 Novel

A novel containing elements reflecting the author's experiences; explores personal suffering and renewal.

personal sufferingrenewalwomen's position

Riwan; or, the Sandy Track

1999 Novel

One of the works reflecting the author's personal experiences; depicts traditional social structures, women's roles and individual fate.

tradition and modernizationwomen's fatesocial constraints

Madness and Death

2000 Novel

A work dealing with psychological and existential crises.

mental statesdeathexistence

Rue Félix-Faure

2005 Novel

A work themed on urban life and human relationships.

urban liferelationshipssociety

Le Trio bleu

2022 Novel

A recent work; detailed public descriptions are limited.

contemporary societyhuman relations

Bibliography

  • The Abandoned Baobab (Le Baobab Fou) (1982)
  • Cendres et braises (1994)
  • Riwan ou le Chemin de Sable (1999)
  • La Folie et la mort (2000)
  • De l'autre côté du regard (2002)
  • Rue Félix-Faure (2005)
  • La pièce d'or (2005)
  • Mes hommes à moi (2008)
  • Aller et Retour (2014)
  • Cacophonie (2014)
  • Le Trio bleu (2022)

Translations of Works

  • The Abandoned Baobab (English translation, 1991)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
direct, introspective style with autobiographical elementswritten in French
Recurring Motifs
effects of colonialismwomen's experiences and corporealityloneliness and alienationreligion and tradition

Legacy

Ken Bugul is an internationally recognized Francophone writer from Senegal, known for a body of work with strong autobiographical elements. Her critical portrayals of colonialism and women's experiences have been widely noted; she won the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire in 2000. English-language readership grew through the translation of The Abandoned Baobab.

Quotes

  • “All three books mirror the very deep and radical experiences I went through.”
    Source: Interview (source: conversation with Ada Uzoamaka Azodo)

Trivia

  • The pen name Ken Bugul means "one who is unwanted" in Wolof.
  • Born into a polygamous family; her father was an elderly marabout.
  • On returning home in 1980 she became the 28th wife in her village marabout's harem.
  • Le Baobab Fou was translated into English as The Abandoned Baobab.