Ferdinand Léopold Oyono

Béatrice Vernier (Lakehead University)

Ed. by Hugo Azerad, University of Cambridge
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 8.2.1: Francophone African Writing and Culture: Subsaharan.
Vol. editors: Helen Rachel Cousins (Birmingham Newman University)

Dates

Born 14 Sep 1929
Died 10 Jun 2010
Activity 1956-2010

Places

Born in Cameroon
Active in Cameroon

Activities

Primary

Diplomat
Novelist

Other

Politician

Resources

Oyono's Works

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Ferdinand Oyono was a French African writer, diplomat and politician from Cameroon who only published three novels in his lifetime:

Une vie de boy

(1956, translated as

Houseboy

Le Vieux nègre et la médaille

(1956,

The Old Man and the Medal

), and

Chemin d’Europe

(1960,

Road to Europe

)

Despite his limited output, he remains an important figure within French African literature as he was one of the first writers of the 1950s to depict European colonization without complacency. This trilogy was published when decolonization in Africa was at its peak. Cameroon got its independence from the France and Great Britain on January 1st, 1960 following a period of conflicts between French authorities and the independent movement UPC (Union des populations du Cameroon).

Each of Oyono’s novels

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3469 words

Citation: Vernier, Béatrice. "Ferdinand Léopold Oyono". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 April 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13879, accessed 21 November 2024.]