The island of Mauritius is home to many languages, and Mauritian literature exists in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, Creole and Indian languages. Major themes in Mauritian literature include

exoticism Exoticism (from ''exotic'') is the style or traits considered characteristic of a distant foreign country. In art and design it is a trend where creators become fascinated with ideas and styles from distant regions and draw inspiration from them. ...

multiracialism Multiracialism is a conceptual framework for theorizing and interpreting identity formation in global multiracial populations. Multiracialism explores the tendency for multiracial individuals to identify with a third category of 'mixed' instead o ...

and

miscegenation Miscegenation ( ) is marriage or admixture between people who are members of different races or ethnicities. It has occurred many times throughout history, in many places. It has occasionally been controversial or illegal. Adjectives describin ...

, racial and social conflicts, '' indianocéanisme'', and—more recently—

post-modernism Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wor ...

and

post-structuralism Post-structuralism is a philosophical movement that questions the objectivity or stability of the various interpretive structures that are posited by structuralism and considers them to be constituted by broader systems of Power (social and poli ...

currents, such as ''

coolitude Khal Torabully is a Mauritian poet. Born in Mauritius in 1956, in the capital city Port Louis, his father was a Trinidadian sailor and his mother was a descendant of migrants from India and Malaya. Work Khal Torabully left for Lyon in 1976, ...

''. After independence in 1968 writers like

Dev Virahsawmy Dev Virahsawmy (16 March 1942 – 7 November 2023) was a Mauritian politician, playwright, poet and advocate of the Mauritian Creole language. Though he wrote easily in both French and English, Virahsawmy was most renowned for his efforts to po ...

reactivated creole language, then considered as a "patois," and wrote literature, especially drama. The new generation of writers has expressed persistent concern with structure and more global themes. While '' Kreol Morisyen'' is the most spoken language on in Mauritius, most of the literature is written in

, although many authors write in

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri may refer to: * Bhojpuri language, an Indo-Aryan language of India and Nepal * Bhojpuri grammar, grammatical rules of the language * Bhojpuri nouns, nouns of the language * Bhojpuri people, people who speak the language * Bhojpuri region ...

, and Morisyen. Mauritius's renowned playwright

writes exclusively in Morisyen. Important authors include

Malcolm de Chazal Malcolm de Chazal (12 September 1902 – 1 October 1981) was a Mauritian writer, painter, and visionary, known especially for his ''Sens-Plastique'', a work consisting of several thousand aphorisms and pensées. Early life and education Chaza ...

Ananda Devi Ananda Devi Nirsimloo-Anenden, also known as Ananda Devi, (born March 23, 1957) is a francophone Mauritian author. She is the 2024 recipient of the Neustadt Prize, known as the "American Nobel." Biography Ananda Devi Nirsimloo was born in Troi ...

, Raymond Chasle, and Edouard Maunick.

Lindsey Collen Lindsey Collen (born 1948 in Mqanduli, Umtata, Transkei, South Africa) is a Mauritian novelist, and activist. She won the 1994 and 2005 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Best Book, Africa. Her work has appeared in the ''New Internationalist''. She is a ...

has been able to carve out a meeting of imaginaries in the unique social setup of this multi-faceted country. Other younger writers like Shenaz Patel, Natacha Appanah, Alain Gordon-Gentil and Carl de Souza explore the issues of ethnicity, superstition and politics in the novel. Poet and critic Khal Torabully has put forward the concept of "coolitude," a poetics that results from the blend of Indian and Mauritian cultural diversity. Other poets include Hassam Wachill, Edouard Maunick, Sedley Assone, Yusuf Kadel and Umar Timol.

J. M. G. Le Clézio Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio (; 13 April 1940), usually identified as J. M. G. Le Clézio, of French, Mauritian, and British nationality, is a writer and professor. The author of over forty works, he was awarded the 1963 Prix Renaudot for his n ...

, who won the

Nobel Prize for Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in t ...

in 2008, is of Mauritian heritage and holds dual French-Mauritian citizenship. The island plays host to the Le Prince Maurice Prize, a literary award celebrating and recognizing 'writers of the heart'. The award is designed to highlight the literary love story in all its forms rather than for pure Romantic Fiction. In keeping with the island's literary culture the prize alternates on a yearly basis between English-speaking and French-speaking writers.

Notable writers

French language

* Aqiil Gopee *

Marie-Thérèse Humbert Marie-Thérèse Humbert (born July 17, 1940) is a Mauritian writer. She is a recipient of the Grand prix des lectrices de Elle. Biography She was born in Quatre Bornes and was educated at Cambridge University and the Sorbonne. She moved to Franc ...

Marie-Aimée de Kermorvan Marie-Aimée de Kermorvan or Marie-Aimée Vigoureux de Kermorvan (1904 – 1985) was a Mauritian writer and poet. She spent her childhood in Mauritius and later published several books of writing and poetry in French. She was identified as a leadi ...

Mauritian writer and poet (1904-1985) * Marie Leblanc *

* Shenaz Patel *

Eugénie Poujade Jeanne Eugénie Poujade (1814 – 1881) also Madame Delafond, also Madame la Comtesse E. de Sornay was a Mauritian poet and writer, who founded the Société du Lierre and its periodical ''La Parisienne (periodical), La Parisienne''. Biography ...

* Amal Sewtohul * Khal Torabully

English language

* Priya Hein * Vinod Busjeet *

Natasha Soobramanien Natasha Soobramanien is a British-Mauritian novelist who received the Goldsmiths Prize in 2022 for her novel ''Diego Garcia''. Early life Soobramanien was born and raised in North London to Mauritian parents. She also spent some of her childhood ...

Ariel Saramandi

Creole

* Azize Asgarally *

Works

*'' Tales from Mauritius'' (1979)

References