Emmanuel Boundzéki Dongala (born 1941) is a Congolese

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. He was born in

Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...

Republic of Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

, in 1941. He was Richard B. Fisher Chair in Natural Sciences at

Bard College at Simon's Rock Bard College at Simon's Rock (more commonly known as Simon's Rock) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It is part of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudso ...

until 2014. As a chemist, hiDongala's specialty is

stereochemistry Stereochemistry, a subdiscipline of chemistry, studies the spatial arrangement of atoms that form the structure of molecules and their manipulation. The study of stereochemistry focuses on the relationships between stereoisomers, which are defined ...

and asymmetric synthesis, as well as environmental toxicology. He is the author of a number of award-winning novels including ''Johnny Mad Dog'' (French: '' Johnny chien méchant'') and '' Little Boys Come from the Stars''.

Education and career

Dongala traveled to the US to obtain his BA in Chemistry from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

and his MS from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

before earning a Ph.D. in chemistry at the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, then returned to the Congo to teach polymeric chemistry at Marien Ngouabi University. In 1981, he cofounded Le Théâtre de l'Eclair with author Léandre-Alain Baker. In 1997, he was dean of Marien Ngouabi University in

when war broke out in the Republic of Congo. The civil war of 1997–1998 forced Dongala and his family to abandon their possessions and seek asylum in the United States. Through his literary connections, particularly through his friend Philip Roth, Dongala obtained a teaching position at

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

for both

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. At first he wanted to return to his country to be with his colleagues and improve the University of Brazzaville, however, Dongala ultimately decided to stay in the States to pursue both his career as a chemistry professor and as an author.

Literary works

With his works, Dongala widened his audience from the Congo to all former French colonies in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. His themes address French

colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

and the resulting complex economic, social, and political problems shared across

Francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

countries. Dongala hopes to unite African francophones through these shared hardships across borders and coined the expression "écrits transnationaux," meaning "transnational writings." He believes authors should be like a "

griot A griot (; ; Manding languages, Manding: or (in N'Ko script, N'Ko: , or in French spelling); also spelt Djali; or / ; ) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. Griots are masters of communicatin ...

", a type of African bard, who has the important role to both "entertain and instruct at the same time" for francophone Africa as a whole. In his novels, Dongala strives to confront issues of societal wrongs, cultural traditions, and conformist thinking. * ''Un fusil dans la main, un poème dans la poche'', novel, published 1973 by Albin Michel. * ''Jazz et vin de palme'', novel, published 1982 by Hatier, reprinted 1996 by Le Serpent à Plumes. * ''Le Feu des origines,'' novel, published 1987 by Alibin Michel, 1998 Le Serpent à Plumes. * ''Le Premier matin du monde'', play, published 1984. * ''Les Petits Garçons naissent aussi des étoiles'', novel, published 1998 by Le Serpent à plumes. * ''Mes enfants? Quels enfants?'', play, published 1990. * ''Le Miracle de Noël,'' play, published 1995. Based on the novel ''L'Enfant miraculé'' by Tchicaya U Tam'si. * '' Johnny chien méchant'', novel, published 2002 by Le Serpent à plumes. * ''Photo de groupe au bord du fleuve'', novel, published 2010 by Actes Sud. * ''La Sonate à Bridgetower'' ('' The Bridgetower Sonata''), published 2017 by Editions Actes Sud (English translation published 2021 by Schaffner Press) Dongala's work is featured in the '' Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry'', and he has been the recipient of a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

. There is a film based on his book '' Johnny Mad Dog'', a 2008 French-Liberian film directed by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire and starring Christopher Minie, Daisy Victoria Vandy, Dagbeh Tweh, Barry Chernoh, Mohammed Sesay and Joseph Duo. Dongala was winner of the 2004 Cezam Prix Littéraire Inter CE for ''Johnny chien méchant''.

Awards and recognition

Dongala won the Grand Prix Littéraire de l'Afrique Noire in 1988 for ''Le Feu des origines.'' This work also won him le Prix Charles Oulmont from the Fondation de France (1988). For ''Les Petits Garçons naissent aussi des étoiles'', Dongala received le Prix RFI-Témoin du Monde in 1998. He became the laureate of the Fonlon-Nichols de l'excellence littéraire from the African Literature Association in 2003 for his "literary creativity" and "his contribution to the fight for the rights of man, particularly for the freedom of expression." Though he was not widely known at the time, Dongala's name appeared in the press in Paris after Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire's film ''Johnny Mad Dog'' was released in 2008. His work ''Photo de groupe au bord du fleuve'' won him both the Le Prix Virilo in 2010, Le Prix Ahmadou Kourouma in 2011, and Le Prix Mokanda in 2013.

References

* "Where Independent Minds Get Their Start". ''Where Independent Minds Get Their Start'', Bard College, 2014, https://simons-rock.edu/.

External links

Simon's Rock College: Emmanuel Dongala

Dr. Emmanuel Dongala discusses and reads from his new novel, Johnny Mad Dog. (MP3)
Simon's Rock Faculty Forum, originally aired o
WBCR-LP
Great Barrington, MA (archive.org)
2001 Interview with Terry Gross on National Public Radio's Fresh Air program

* Anderson Tepper

''Washington Post'' review of ''Johnny Mad Dog'', November 20, 2005

''The New York Times'', May 7, 1998# * [https://litte.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/litte/article/view/29358/26955 ''Paradoxes de l'identité: de la déconstruction à la construction identitaire dans "Les petits garçons naissent aussi des étoiles" d'Emmanuel Boundzeki''], by Moussa Coulibaly, ''LittéRéalité'', 20, 2, 2008, York University, pp. 45–57. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dongala, Emmanuel 1941 births Living people Bard College at Simon's Rock faculty People from Brazzaville Republic of the Congo dramatists and playwrights Republic of the Congo novelists