Suzanne Dracius (born August 25, 1951) in

Fort-de-France Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Hi ...

, in the Terres-Sainville district) is a French writer from

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island and an Overseas department and region, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of ...

Biography

After studying at the Lycée Marie-Curie in Sceaux and at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

, Suzanne Dracius taught in Paris, then at the University of the French Antilles and in the United States as a visiting professor at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and the

University of Ohio Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseque ...

. Suzanne Dracius defines herself as a , a creole word meaning a light skinned mixed race person; she claims African, European, Indian, Caribbean and Chinese ancestry. She has made the fight against any kind of racial, sexual or social discrimination the issue and the subject of her writing. Her books and have been translated into English as ''Climb to the Sky and The dancing other'', and Italian; also an anthology of poetry, ''Calazaza's delicious dereliction : poems''.

Work

Novels

* , Seghers, 1989 ; reissued by Editions du Rocher, 2007 * , Desnel, 2003

Short stories

* , collection of short stories, , No. 15), 1992; reprinted in pocket format, 1995. * , in , Houghton-Mifflin, 1995, * , in , Houghton-Mifflin, 2000, second edition, pp. 64–76 * , short story, in under the direction of Aurélien Boivin et de Bruno Dufour, ed. , 2008,

Poetry

* and (Creole and French versions), , MicRomania (coll.) No. 3, 1992; No. 5, 1993 * (collective) Desnel, 2005 * (collective, coordinated by), Desnel, 2006 * , Desnel, 2008 * (collective, coordinated by), Desnel, 2010 * , Idem, 2014 * , éditions Idem, 2016

Plays

* , fabulodrama, Desnel, 2005; first performed at the prefecture of Fort-de-France in 2000, then the Festival du Marin (2002), revived under the patronage of TV5 at the opening ceremony of the AATF symposium (Association of American Teachers of French) in a production by the author (Trois-Îlets, 2003)

Essays, children's and youth literature and fine books

* (with Pierre Pinalie), ed. Hugues Hayot, 1994 * (illustrations by Choko), Desnel, 2006 * My Little Book of London / (bilingual text), Desnel, 2008 * , ''International Journal of Francophone Studies'' Volume 11 Numbers 1 and 2, edited by Adlai Murdoch (UIUC) and Jane Kuntz (UIUC), 2008 (), ed. Intellect Ltd., Bristol, UK * (collective), L’Harmattan, 2009 * In Search of Suzanne Césaire's Garden », in ''Research in African Literatures'', vol. 41, No 1 (Spring 2010), Indiana University Press, The Ohio State University ()

Awards and literary prizes

* 1989 : finalist for the

Prix du Premier Roman The Prix du Premier Roman (''First Novel Prize'') is a French literary prize awarded to an unpublished novelist between the ages of 18 and 30. The monetary reward is 3,000 Euros. The prize was first awarded in 1977. Starting with 1998 a separat ...

. * 2003 : Awarded honorary membership of the AATF * 2003 : was given the "" awarded by FNAC. * 2004 : Awarded honorary membership of the Foreign Language Honor Society of

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subsequ ...

. * 2005 : Prix Littéraire Fetkann / Mémoire du Sud, mémoire de l’humanité for . * 8 March 2006 (

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday list of minor secular observances#March, celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights, women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, ...

): Médaille d’honneur de Schœlcher for . * 2009 : Prix Littéraire Fetkann for . * 2010 : in recognition of her life's work. * 2019 : .

References

{{reflist University of Georgia faculty Martiniquais writers Martiniquais poets 20th-century French writers 21st-century French writers 20th-century French poets 21st-century French poets 1951 births Living people