Marcel Cabon (February 29, 1912 at

Curepipe Curepipe (), also known as ''La Ville-Lumière'' (The City of Light), is a town in Mauritius, located mainly in the Plaines Wilhems District. Its eastern part lies in the Moka District. The town is administered by the Municipal Council of Cure ...

– January 31, 1972) was a writer, journalist, and poet.

Life

Marcel Cabon grew up in the village of Petite Rivière on the west side of the island of

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

. At the age of 19, he published his first verses in ''

L'Essor (fr. ''Progress'') is the state-owned national daily newspaper published in Bamako, Mali. Its motto is "''La Voix du Peuple''" ("The Voice of the People"). History was first published in 1949, and from 1953 was the official publication of the ...

,'' a national daily newspaper. In 1946, Marcel frequently traveled to

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

; a year later, he was no longer welcomed by local journalists, and the authorities deported him to Mauritius. Despite the forced deportation, Cabon's time in Madagascar inspired him to write ''Kélibé-Kéliba'' in 1956. After spending some time working as a radio broadcaster, Cabon returned to

print media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

. In 1956, he became the editor of the ''Mauritian''. He also held the same position at ''Advance'', a pro-labor daily newspaper. His novel ''Namasté'' earned him the literary

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Marcel Cabon. The hero in the novel, Ram, is a young

Indo-Mauritian Indo-Mauritians are Mauritians who trace their ethnic ancestry to the Republic of India or other parts of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia now known as Nepal and Pakistan. History During the administration of the French East India Compa ...

who inherits a piece of land and becomes popular in his village. He encourages the peasants to help each other by building a school and a road, but when his wife is killed by the collapse of his house during a tropical storm, Ram loses his purpose. ''Namasté'' was reissued in 1981 and later reprinted to accommodate the educational institutions that have included his novel in their programs. In 1970, Cabon left the management of ''Advance'' to become the Chief of Information Service of the Mauritian Radio-Television, associated with the

Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation The Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) is the national state broadcaster of the Republic of Mauritius, that is the islands of Mauritius, Rodrigues, and Agaléga. The historical headquarters in Curepipe were relocated in Réduit, Moka. It ...

Works

* ''Gochu'', novel (1965). Port Louis: Eds. of the Indian Ocean, 1981. * ''Brasse-au-Vent'', novel (1968). Port Louis: Eds. of the Indian Ocean, 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabon, Marcel 1912 births 1972 deaths 20th-century journalists Mauritian journalists Mauritian poets 20th-century Mauritian writers People from Plaines Wilhems District