Regina Yaou (sometimes N'doufou) (10 July 1955 – 4 November 2017) was a writer from

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

Life and career

Yaou was born in

Dabou Dabou is a port town in southern Ivory Coast. It is the seat of both the Lagunes District and the Grands-Ponts Region Grands-Ponts Region (also originally known as Leboutou Region) is one of the 31 Regions of Ivory Coast, regions of Ivory Coast. ...

and raised by her aunt in a literary family, and wrote her first poems between the ages of twelve and fourteen. She attended the technical high school in

Cocody Cocody (, ) is a suburb of and one of the 10 urban communes of Ivory Coast, communes of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. It is upmarket and has an abundance of mansions. Cocody is where most of the wealthy businesspeople, ambassadors, and other affluent peop ...

, where in 1977 she participated in a literary contest organized by the publishing house Nouvelles éditions africaines; this led to the creation of her first work, a novella entitled ''La Citadine'' which has remained unpublished, but which won a prize in the contest. After leaving school she worked for a few years before returning to her studies in 1982; she attended the

University of Tours The University of Tours (), formerly François Rabelais University of Tours (), is a public university in Tours, France. Founded in 1969, the university was formerly named after the French writer François Rabelais. It is the largest university ...

and spent a year at the

Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny (UFHB), formerly known as Université de Cocody or Université de Cocody-Abidjan, is a public university located in the Cocody section of Abidjan and the largest in Côte d'Ivoire. With over 50,000 student ...

in Cocody. She has also lived in Akrou, in the Jacqueville Department. She was declared a winner of literary competition organized by the new African edition in 1977 Yaou completed her first novel, ''Lezou Marie ou les écueils de la vie'', in 1977, presenting it to an editor in 1981 and publishing it in 1982. She followed it with ''La révolte d'Affiba'' in 1985; she has since written numerous other novels. From 1991 until 1993 she was in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as a guest lecturer at a number of universities. She then returned to Ivory Coast, where in addition to her literary activities she held a number of other positions; in 2005 she returned to the United States once more, for two years of comparative study of the similarities between the stories of the

southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

and those of her home country. In 2009 she returned again to Ivory Coast. Beginning in the 1990s, Yaou published a number of works under

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 ...

s such as Joëlle Anskey and Ruth Owotchi. Her work generally focuses on themes of modern life and the role of women in Ivorian society, and includes discussion of

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

, infidelity, and maternity, among other issues. In 2014 she received the excellency award from the president of Cote d' Ivoire, and was the writer in the spotlight at the last international book fair at Abidjan. She died on 4 November 2017.Côte d'Ivoire: Décès de l'écrivaine Regina Yaou à Abidjan

Works

As Regina Yaou

*1977: ''La Citadine'', unpublished. *1982: ''Lezou Marie ou les écueils de la vie''.

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

, Nouvelles Éditions africaines *1985: ''La Révolte d’Affiba''.

, Nouvelles Éditions africaines *1988: ''Aihui Anka''.

, Nouvelles Éditions africaines (republished 1999) *1997: ''Le Prix de la Révolte''.

, Nouvelles éditions ivoiriennes *1998: ''Les Germes de la mort. Tome 1: Brah la villageoise''.

, Nouvelles éditions ivoiriennes *2001: ''L’indésirable''.

, Centre d'édition et de diffusion africaines (CEDA) *2005: ''Le glas de l’infortune''.

, Nouvelles éditions ivoiriennes-

CEDA The Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas (, CEDA) was a Spanish right-wing political party in the Second Spanish Republic. A Catholic conservative force, it was the political heir to Ángel Herrera Oria's Acción Popular and defined ...

*2009: ''Coup d’État''.

, Nouvelles éditions ivoiriennes *2010: ''Dans l’antre du loup''.

, Les Classique Ivoiriens *2012: ''Opération fournaise''.

, Nouvelles éditions ivoiriennes-

Pseudonymous

*1999: ''Symphonie et Lumière''. Adoras, Nouvelles éditions ivoiriennes *1999: ''Cœurs rebelles''. Adoras, Nouvelles éditions ivoiriennes *2000: ''La fille du lagon''. Adoras, Nouvelles éditions ivoiriennes *2001: ''Les miraculés''. Adoras, Nouvelles éditions ivoiriennes *2004: ''Le Contrat''. Clair de Lune, Puci *2004: ''Tendres ennemis''. Clair de Lune, Puci *2004: ''L’amour en exil''. Clair de Lune, Puci *2004: ''Piège pour un cœur''. Clair de Lune, Puci

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yaou, Regina 1955 births 2017 deaths Ivorian women novelists 20th-century Ivorian novelists 20th-century women writers 21st-century novelists 21st-century women writers People from Dabou University of Tours alumni Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny alumni People from Lagunes District Ivorian writers in French