Saturday, November 24, 2007

Profile: Mbella Sonne Dipoko

Novelis, poet, painter (b. 1936)

The Cameroonian Anglophone novelist, poet, and painter Mbella Sonne Dipoko represents the first generation of Anglophone Cameroonian novelists and is still considered, along with Kenjo Jumbam as one of the foremost writers of Anglophone Cameroonian literature.

His novel, Because of Women (1968) is one of th ebest known Cameroonian novels written in English, and is certainly his signature work. The novel details the tribulations of a fisherman who has difficulty choosing between two potential wives, ultimately gaining neither in a series of tragic events borne of his inability to fathom his true desires and needs. The novel has been the subject of controversy, first when British publishing house Heinemann initially balked at publishing a novel containing explicit sex in its famous African Writers Series, and then from accusations that the text was mysogynist.

His other novel, A Few Nights and Days (1966), is set in France and follows the lives of four students, including an interracial couple, and investigates African-European relations. Dipoko has also published a volume of poetry, Black and White in Love (1972). One of the poems, "Our Destiny," is frequently anthologized.

Source: Enclopedia of African Literature (2002) by Simon Gikandi, p. 148



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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

may his soul rest in peace.you will always be remember by poets,historians and cameroonians,not forgetting his Tiko people. i love AND ADORE YOUR WONDERFUL CONTRIBUTION TO THE CAMEROON EDUCATION IN PARTICULAR AND WORLD AT LARGE.
by abe theophilus

Dickson Monk said...

Hello,
I am preparing illustrations for a new volume of The Dictionary of Literary Biography on African writers. I would like to use the picture of Mbella Dipoko found on your blog. Can you provide permission to reprint or know who owns the copyright to this image? Also do you have available a higher resolution or larger file of this photo that I may use. Please respond to dmonk@bclpub.com
Thank you for any help you can provide.
Best regards,
Dickson Monk

Kiyang Cho Derrick Ten said...

Your work has inspired many poets and novelists in Cameroon, Africa and the world at large may your soul rest in perfect peace in the bosom of the Almighty.i say thank you

Unknown said...

Nice book