Dominique Aguessy (born March 31, 1937) is a

Beninese Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

writer, poet, former sociology researcher, and trade union congress member.

Early life

Aguessy was born in Benin, but is now a French national. Aguessy has a bachelor's degree in French language and literature from the

University of Bordeaux The University of Bordeaux (, ) is a public research university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bordeaux, Dax, Gradignan, Périgueux, Pessac, and Talence. There are al ...

and a master's in sociology from the

University of Dakar Cheikh Anta Diop University (), also known as the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, is a university in Dakar, Senegal. It is named after the Senegalese physicist, historian and anthropologist Cheikh Anta Diop and has an enrollment of over 60, ...

, as well as a management degree from

Templeton College Templeton College was one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. From 1956 to 1958 and from 1964 to 1970, she was a cultural program producer for the national radio broadcasting of

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

and the Office de co-operacion radiophonique.

Personal life

Aguessy has three children. She currently lives in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, where she's settled since 1973.

Career

Union work

From 1973 to 1985, she held three four-year elective mandates as deputy general secretary of the World Confederation of Labor.

Sociological work

Aguessy was a researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the ULB in

working with Gabriel Thoveron. From 1985 to 2000, she worked for the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

and the Association of the ACP chambers of commerce, making research trips to Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America, Central Europe, the United States and Canada.

Literary work

Her literary career began in 1993, with the publication of her first collection of poems ''Les chemins de la sagesse, contes et légendes du Sénégal et du Bénin'' (en: "The Paths of Wisdom, Tales and Legends of Senegal and Benin"). She calls literature her third career. She considers her third poetry collection ''Comme un souffle fragile'', poèmes méditations, published by édition Parole et Silence in 2005, to be primarily about hope, since she believes the focus when talking about Africa is too much on misery, as opposed to the happiness she sees. Her work often also includes themes of spirituality.

Publications

Stories and novels

* ''Les chemins de la sagesse'', contes et légendes du Sénégal et du Bénin, éditions L'Harmattan, Paris, 1993 * ''La maison aux sept portes'', contes et légendes du Bénin, éditions L'Harmattan, Paris, 1996 * ''Le caméléon bavard'', contes et légendes du Sénégal et du Bénin, éditions L'Harmattan, Paris, 1994 * ''Contes du Bénin, L'oracle du hibou'', édition Maisonneuve et Larose, Paris, 2004 * ''La soif des oasis'', preface by Sylvestre Clancier, Éditions du Cygne, Paris, 2008

Novellas

* ''Les raisins de mer'', nouvelles, éditions L'Harmattan, Paris, 2013

Essays

* ''Pouvoir et démocratie à l'épreuve du Syndicalisme'', essai, Unesco Breda, Dakar, 1994

Poems and poetry collections

* ''L'aube chante à plusieurs voix'', poèmes, preface by Emile Kesteman, illustration by Titane De Vos, édition de l'Acanthe, 1999 * ''Le gué des hivernages'', poèmes, preface by Cheikh Hamidou Khane and Oumar Sankharé, édition la Porte des Poètes, Paris, 2002 * ''Comme un souffle fragile'', poèmes méditations, édition Parole et Silence, Paris et Le Muveran, 2005 * ''Tant de chemins ouverts'', Éditions du Cygne, France, 2010 * ''Marges et Rivages'', éditions L'Harmattan, Paris, 2018 * ''Bleurs d'aurore'', Éditions du Cygne, Paris, 2021

Anthology contributions

* ''Nous, la multitude'', with Xavier Abert, Max Alhau, and Guy Allix, Temps de Cerises, 2011

Autobiographical

* ''Un combat aux milles visages'', éditions L'Harmattan, Paris, 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aguessy, Dominique Living people Beninese women novelists Beninese novelists University of Bordeaux alumni Alumni of Green Templeton College, Oxford Cheikh Anta Diop University alumni 1937 births