-
Edition 7 (1966) Winner
Olympe Bhêly-Quenum
オランプ・ベリー＝クヌム
Olympe Bhely-Quenum
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1928-09-20 （Ouidah, Benin）
- Nationality
- Beninese
- Languages
- French, English
Career
- Occupations
- Writer, Journalist, Magazine editor
- Active Years
- 1950-
- Affiliations
- Editor-in-chief/director of La Vie Africaine (until 1964), UNESCO (Paris)
- Influenced By
- Maximilien Quenum-Possy-Berry (uncle, anthropologist)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary education in Benin | — | — | — | 1938–1944 | Benin |
| Collège Littré (Avranches) | — | — | — | 1948–19?? | France |
Primary education in Benin
Period:
1938–1944
Country:
Benin
Traveled through Nigeria and Ghana where he learned English.
Collège Littré (Avranches)
Period:
1948–19??
Country:
France
Went to France in 1948 to undertake secondary studies in Avranches, Normandy.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire | Le Chant du lac | — | Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire | 受賞 |
Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire
1966
Work:
Le Chant du lac
Organization:
Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Un piège sans fin (Snares Without End)
1960 NovelA tragic novel set against postcolonial African society exploring tangled human relationships and fate. Translated into English by Dorothy Blair as Snares Without End (1981).
PostcolonialismFateInterpersonal relationships
Translations
- English translation: Snares Without End (Dorothy S. Blair, 1981)
Le Chant du lac
1966 NovelOne of his notable works published in 1966 which won the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire. Through a story around a lake it depicts aspects of local society.
CommunityTraditionSocial issues
Liaison d'un été et autres récits
1968 Short storiesA collection of short stories exploring social and psychological themes through various characters and everyday fragments.
Character studyEveryday lifeSocial background
L'initié
1979 NovelA work addressing themes of spiritual or social initiation and revelation.
RevelationTradition vs modernity
Les Mille Haches
1981 NovelA novel with symbolic and allegorical elements, drawing on regional history and tradition.
HistoryAllegoryCulture
Les Francs-Maçons
1997 Novel/EssayA work dealing with Freemasonry, including social and historical reflections.
Secret societiesHistory
La naissance d’Abikou (Abikou's birth)
1998 Novella/NovelA story containing elements of folklore and myth.
MythFolklore
C'était à Tigony (As She Was Discovering Tigony)
2000 Short story/NovelA story set in Tigony; an English translation was published later.
DiscoveryMemory
Translations
- English translation: As She Was Discovering Tigony (Tomi Adeaga, Michigan State University Press, 2017)
Bibliography
- Un piège sans fin (1960)
- Le Chant du lac (1966)
- Liaison d'un été et autres récits (1968)
- L'initié (1979)
- Les Mille Haches (1981)
- Les Francs-Maçons (1997)
- La naissance d’Abikou (1998)
- C'était à Tigony (2000)
Translations of Works
- Un piège sans fin → English: Snares Without End (Dorothy S. Blair, 1981)
- C'était à Tigony → English: As She Was Discovering Tigony (Tomi Adeaga, 2017)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Concise, descriptive prose in FrenchOccasionally uses allegorical and symbolic descriptions
- Recurring Motifs
- Childhood and memoryTradition vs modernityCommunity vs individual
Legacy
Olympe Bhêly-Quenum is a significant Francophone writer from Benin whose 1966 Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire win and journalistic and UNESCO career contributed to modern African literature. His work remains a subject of study across generations.
Trivia
- He is the nephew of anthropologist Maximilien Quenum-Possy-Berry.
- Served as editor and director of the magazine La Vie Africaine before joining UNESCO.
- Won the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire in 1966 for Le Chant du lac.