Tierno Monénembo
Encyclopedia
Thierno Saïdou Diallo, usually known as Tierno Monénembo (born 1947), is a Francophone
Guinea
n novelist. Born in Guinea, he later lived in Senegal
, Algeria
, Morocco
, and finally France
since 1973. He has written eight books in all and was awarded the 2008 prix Renaudot
for The King of Kahel
(le Roi de Kahel).
His most noted book is said to be Pelourinho, which was set in Brazil
. For the English-speaking world his significance was more for being one of the African authors invited to Rwanda
after the 1994 Tutsi-Hutu massacre to "write genocide
into memory." From this came the novel The Oldest Orphan; the 2004 translation by the University of Nebraska may be his most successful book in the English language. In November 2010 the English translation of le Roi de Kahel (The King of Kahel
) was published by AmazonCrossing, Amazon.com
's translated fiction publishing arm, it was the new publishing companies first translated and published book.
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
n novelist. Born in Guinea, he later lived in Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, and finally France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
since 1973. He has written eight books in all and was awarded the 2008 prix Renaudot
Prix Renaudot
The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or Prix Renaudot is a French literary award which was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of the deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt....
for The King of Kahel
The King of Kahel
The King of Kahel is a 2008 French-language novel by Guinean author Tierno Monénembo. It won the 2008 prix Renaudot. It was translated in 2010 to English by Nicholas Elliott and published by AmazonCrossing, Amazon.com's translated fiction publishing imprint...
(le Roi de Kahel).
His most noted book is said to be Pelourinho, which was set in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. For the English-speaking world his significance was more for being one of the African authors invited to Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
after the 1994 Tutsi-Hutu massacre to "write genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
into memory." From this came the novel The Oldest Orphan; the 2004 translation by the University of Nebraska may be his most successful book in the English language. In November 2010 the English translation of le Roi de Kahel (The King of Kahel
The King of Kahel
The King of Kahel is a 2008 French-language novel by Guinean author Tierno Monénembo. It won the 2008 prix Renaudot. It was translated in 2010 to English by Nicholas Elliott and published by AmazonCrossing, Amazon.com's translated fiction publishing imprint...
) was published by AmazonCrossing, Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
's translated fiction publishing arm, it was the new publishing companies first translated and published book.