Shenaz Patel (born July 29, 1966) is a Mauritian writer.

Early life and education

She was born in the town of Rose Hill, Mauritius and writes in both

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

Mauritian Creole Mauritian Creole or Morisien (formerly Morisyen) ( mfe, kreol morisien, links=no ) is a French-based creole language spoken in Mauritius. English words are included in the standardized version of the language. In addition, the slaves and in ...

. She did her secondary studies at Lycée La Bourdonnais. Subsequently, she obtained her degree in Modern Literature from the Université de la Réunion in 1986.

Career

Patel was one of a group of Mauritian writers who founded the literary journal ''Tracés''. She has translated two Tintin stories into Creole: ''Le Secret de la Licorne'' and ''Trésor de Rackham le Rouge''. Her first play ''La phobie du caméléon'' was awarded the Prix Beaumarchais. In 2014, Vents d'ailleurs published her novella ''Paradis Blues'', which is written in French with Creole interspersed through the narration. In 2016, she was a participant in the International Writing Program's Fall Residency at the University of Iowa, in

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

, IA.

Selected works

Novels

* ''Le Portrait Chamarel'' (2002), received the Prix Radio France du Livre de l'Océan Indien * ''Sensitive'' (2003), received the Prix du Roman Francophone * ''Le Silence des Chagos'' (2005), received the Prix Soroptimist de la Romancière francophone * ''Paradis Blues'' (2014)

Stories

* "À l'encre d'un nom" in ''Au tour des Femmes'' (1995) * "Ille était une fois" in ''Maurice, demain et après'' (1996) * "Do-do, l'enfant" in ''Histoires d'enfants'' (1999) * "Marée noire" in ''Nocturnes'' (2000) * "Zistwar mistran" in ''Nouvelles de l'étrange'' (2001), Creole * "Nous avons pris des bateaux" and "Anvolé" (Creole) in ''Voyages'' (2002) * "Désir de mer" and "Lamer inn fermé" (Creole) in ''En mer'' (2004) * "Incroyable, dites-vous" and "Si ziraf pa kapav anvalé" (Creole) in ''Histoires incroyables'' (2007) * "Zistwar sosouri" in ''Zistwar zanimo'' (2010), Creole * "L'envers du ciel" in ''De l'autre côté du ciel'' (2011)

Plays

* ''Esper Godo'', a translation into Mauritian Creole of

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

's ''Waiting for Godot'' * ''La Phobie du Caméléon'', 2005

Literary Awards and distinctions

Patel has been awarded the following honours:

References

1966 births Living people Mauritian novelists Mauritian translators Translators to Mauritian Creole Mauritian dramatists and playwrights Mauritian women writers Mauritian women novelists Mauritian women short story writers Women dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Mauritian writers 21st-century women writers Mauritian people of Indian descent Mauritian people of Gujarati descent {{Mauritius-writer-stub