"La Francophonie" – in books!
In the last few weeks, you might have heard the names of Emmanuel Macron, Leïla Slimani, Alain Mabanckou, and a number of other writers in a debate about "la francophonie". You're not sure what this is all about? Here's our post on the subject.
Francophonie literally designates all the persons who speak French (and, by extension, the countries in which French is an official language). Today, French is the 5th most widely spoken language on the planet, according to the International Organisation of La Francophonie's official website. While in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in November 2017, president Emmanuel Macron expressed his wish to promote "la francophonie" as a diversity of French languages.
"There is more than one French. One speaks French differently on the five continents of the world. Between Quebec, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Morocco or Congo, one speaks French differently. This diversity is a synonym for poetry, for creativity..."
... says Leïla Slimani, Franco-Moroccan author and winner of the Prix Goncourt 2016 for Lullaby, who was recently made goodwill ambassador for la francophonie by president Macron.
The International conference for the French language and multilingualism (14-15 February 2018), and Alain Mabanckou’s open letter
Alain Mabanckou is a Congolese novelist who writes in French and whose last novel, Black Moses, was published last year by Serpent's Tail. Alain Mabanckou explained his refusal to take part in the francophonie conference in an open letter to the French President dated January 15th.
In taking a stand against the project, Alain Mabanckou brings back into the public sphere a classic discussion on the meaning of francophonie: Is it a political, post-colonial, and imperialist brand? Or is it the existence of a shared language and culture?
He reminds us of the origins of the term francophonie: attributed to Onésime Reclus, it was forged in 1880 to add to France's imperialist ideology, as spreading the French language in the colonies was another means to assert its power abroad. He sees too much of an imperialist ideology in the promotion of la francophonie, and his advice is as follows: if you want to promote the French language, it has to be on other terms, making a clear cut from the past. Alain Mabanckou also wants to erase the distinction in the French-speaking world that you might have heard between France and la francophonie, as if the first did not belong to the second, thus creating a hierarchy in the promotion of literature.
So the criticism is on the political use of la francophonie, rather than its literary existence, as you will see in his interview with Angelique Chrisafis (The Guardian, February 19th). In that article, he advocates the protection of African languages and "a new partnership in the French-speaking world led by civil society, writers and artists that [...] was more supportive of freedom of travel and breaking down borders". His focus is clearly political:
"You can’t talk about the French-speaking world if you don’t ask the question of democracy in Africa [...]
There’s an incongruity in wanting to talk about defending the French language and then holding summits when we’re still in dictatorships in countries that speak French. And today, there are more countries that are dictatorships in the French-speaking world than the English-speaking world."
Put in that way, Mabanckou’s aims and ideals do not seem so far from Leïla Slimani's, who recently explained that she agreed with him: "in Africa or in Maghreb, there is a perception of French in which francophonie sometimes rhyme with colony". But Slimani is keen on "not getting stuck with criticising" and promoting action. And for sure, we're excited to see what comes out of it.
Why are there not more French language books published outside of France?
These debates are echoed by literary agent and former editor Pierre Astier's tribune, dated February 13th. Pierre Astier reflects on the supremacy of French books in the literary French-speaking world and speaks of an "editorial desert" in the world of publishing, quoting telling numbers:
"Out of a world production of about 110.000 new books written in French per year (we don't know the exact number), about 90.000 come from French-speaking Europe (France, Switzerland and Belgium), 15.000 from French-speaking Canada, the rest by the other countries".
For comparison: in the English-speaking world, one book out of six is produced outside the United Kingdom and the United States of America (source: Livre Hebdo). Leïla Slimani shares the same conclusions: in her interview to TV5 Monde dated February 14th, she points out the concentration of French publications in France.
However, the picture wouldn’t be complete without the independent editors who signed a tribune in Le Monde a few days ago. Tired of being talked about as if they weren’t active, the writers of the article include Serge Dontchueng Kouam (Presses Universitaires d’Afrique, Cameroun), Elisabeth Daldoul (Editions Elyzad, Tunisia) and Hélène Kloeckner (president of the International Alliance of independent editors). They remind us that many structures are promoting French-speaking African authors: Africultures, Afrilivres or Esprit Panaf, among them, are dynamic organisations to diversify what the authors called the bibliodiversity.
Kidi Bebey, author and contributor for Le Monde, gives strong examples of this dynamism: the Rentrée littéraire du Mali, taking place this very week in Bamako; the multiplication of literary prizes (Prix Ivoire, Prix Ahmed-Baba, Prix Williams-Sassine…); the creation of publishing houses… Exciting projects are going on to support bibliodiversity, which the Book Office is keen to bring into the limelight.
Francophonie, as you will have understood, is not only about France.
Have a look here for authors who write in French but whose nationality is not (only) French:
- Tahar Ben Jelloun, A Palace in the Old Village, translated by Linda Coverdale, Arcadia Books 2011
- Tahar Ben Jelloun, About My Mother, translated by Ros Schwartz, Saqi Books 2016
- Kamel Daoud, The Meursault Investigation, translated by John Cullen, Oneworld 2015 - Yasmina Khadra, What the Day Owes the Night, translated by Frank Wynne, Penguin 2011
- Yasmina Khadra, The African Equation, translated by Howard Curtis, Gallic Books 2015
- Vénus Khoury-Ghata, Seven Stones, translated by Aneesa Abbas Higgins who tells you more about her experience as translator on our blog, Jacaranda 2017
- Ahmadou Kourouma, Allah is not obliged, translated by Frank Wynne, Penguin 2007
- Alain Mabanckou, Black Moses, translated by Helen Stevenson, Serpent's Tail 2017
- Karim Miské, Arab Jazz, translated by Sam Gordon, MacLehose 2015
- Fiston Mwanza Mujila, Tram 83, translated by Roland Glaeser, Jacaranda 2015
- Boualem Sansal, 2084: The End of the World, translated by Alison Anderson, Europa Editions 2017
- Leïla Slimani, Lullaby, translated by Sam Taylor, Faber & Faber 2018
- Abdourahman Waberi, Passage of Tears, translated by David and Nicole Ball, Seagull Books 2011
And for those of you who are lucky enough to be reading in French, don't miss out these (yet untranslated) books from not (only) French authors:
- Salim Bachi, Un jeune homme en colère, Seuil 2018
- Tahar Ben Jelloun, La Punition, Seuil 2018
- Hemley Boum, Les Maquisards, La Cheminante 2015
- Ken Bugul, Rue Félix-Faure, Hoëbeke 2005
- Kamel Daoud, Zabor ou Les psaumes, Actes Sud 2017
- Ali Erfan, Sans ombre, Editions de l'Aube 2017
- Mambou Aimée Gnali, L'or des femmes, Gallimard 2016
- Sony Labou Tansi, Encre, sueur, salive et sang, Seuil 2015
- Liliana Lazar, Enfants du diable, Seuil 2016
- Henri Lopès, Une enfant de Poto-Poto, Gallimard 2012
- Anna Moï, Le Pays sans nom, Editions de l'Aube 2017
- Williams Sassine, Mémoire d'une peau, Présence Africaine 1998
- Aminata Sow Fall, Festins de la détresse, Editions d'en bas 2005
- Khal Torabully, Mes Afriques, Mes Ivoires, L'Harmattan 2004
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