World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Patrick Chamoiseau

パトリック・シャモアゾー

Patrick Chamoiseau

Pen Names: Abel（Pseudonym used for comic illustrations）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1953-12-03 （Fort-de-France, Martinique）
Nationality
France (Martinique)
Languages
French, Creole
Residence History
Fort-de-France, Martinique → Paris, France

Career

Occupations
novelist, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, children's author, comics writer/illustrator
Active Years
1972-
Influenced By
Édouard Glissant, Aimé Césaire, Frantz Fanon

Education

Studied law in Paris (institution unspecified)
Law / Department of Law
Country: France
Reportedly studied law in Paris before returning to Martinique

Awards

Prix Goncourt
1992
Work: Texaco
Organization: Prix Goncourt (Goncourt Academy/committee)
Result: 受賞
Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde
1990
Work: Antan d'enfance
Organization: Prix Carbet
Result: 受賞
Prince Claus Award
1999
Organization: Prince Claus Fund
Result: 受賞
Best Translated Book Award
2019
Work: Slave Old Man
Organization: Best Translated Book Award (US)
Result: 受賞
Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres
2010
Organization: French Ministry of Culture
Result: 叙勲
Prix Marguerite-Yourcenar
2023
Organization: Prix Marguerite-Yourcenar committee
Result: 受賞
Prix Kléber Haedens
1986
Work: Chronicle of the Seven Sorrows
Organization: Prix Kléber Haedens
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Texaco

1992 Novel

Set around Fort-de-France, Martinique, the novel explores urban memory and community voices to address colonialism and creoleness. Noted for layered narration and oral storytelling elements.

Créolité (Creoleness)Colonialism and its legaciesMemory and oral tradition
Translations
  • English translation: Texaco (trans. Rose-Myriam Réjouis & Val Vinokurov)

Chronicle of the Seven Sorrows

1986 Novel

A novel addressing social marginality and individual suffering, noted for experimental style and oral-influenced narration.

Social marginalityNarration and voice
Translations
  • English translation: Chronicle of the Seven Sorrows (trans. Linda Coverdale)

Solibo Magnificent

1988 Novel

A novel with a crowd-cast that depicts popular storytelling and urban life, combining crime-novel elements with folk material.

CommunityOral traditionUrban life
Translations
  • English translation: Solibo Magnificent (trans. Rose-Myriam Réjouis & Val Vinokurov)

Slave Old Man

1997 Novel / Novella

Tells the story from the perspective of an escaped old slave, poetically portraying confrontation with nature and the quest for freedom.

Freedom and resistanceRelationship with natureMemory
Translations
  • English translation: Slave Old Man (trans. Linda Coverdale)

Bibliography

  • Chronicle of the Seven Sorrows (1986)
  • Solibo Magnificent (1988)
  • Texaco (1992)
  • Slave Old Man (1997)
  • Antan d'enfance (1990)
  • Le Conteur, la Nuit et le Panier (2021)

Adaptations

  • L'Exil du roi Behanzin (screenplay) - dir. Guy Deslauriers (1994)
  • Le Passage du Milieu (screenplay) - dir. Guy Deslauriers (2000)
  • Biguine (screenplay) - dir. Guy Deslauriers (2004)

Translations of Works

  • Texaco → English translation: Texaco (1997)
  • Antan d'enfance → English translation: Childhood (1999)
  • L'Esclave vieil homme et le Molosse → English translation: Slave Old Man (2018)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
French prose informed by oral storytelling rhythmspolyphonic and experimental narrationmixing of Creole vocabulary and expressions
Recurring Motifs
Créolité (Creoleness)Narration of memory and historyColonialism and resistanceCommunity and family

Legacy

A major writer from Martinique and a central figure in the créolité movement. He has had a significant impact on Francophone Caribbean literature and is internationally recognized for his oral-influenced style and insights into colonialism.

Trivia

  • Used the pseudonym 'Abel' for some comic illustrations.
  • Won the 1992 Prix Goncourt for Texaco.
  • Known as one of the co-founders of the créolité movement (with Jean Bernabé and Raphaël Confiant).