Ferdinand Oyono

On 10 June 2010, Cameroonian diplomat, politician and author Ferdinand Léopold Oyono died in Yaoundé at the age of 80. His literary work is recognised for a sense of irony that reveals how easily people can be fooled. Writing in French in the 1950s, Oyono had only a brief literary career, but his anti-colonialist novels are considered classics of 20th century African literature.

Oyono was born near Ebolowa in the South Province of Cameroon on 14 September 1929. After obtaining his secondary education in Yaoundé, he studied law in Paris where he also wrote his first two novels.

In 1960, however, he returned to Cameroon and entered the diplomatic corps. He served as Cameroon's ambassador to various countries. As one of President Paul Biya's top associates, he held the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1992 to 1997 and then of Minister of State for Culture. He was also Chairman of UNICEF from 1977 to 1978.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Selected publications

Le vieux nègre et la médaille : essai d'analyse argumentative / Bienvenu Nola. - Paris : L'Harmattan, 2008

Ecce homo Ferdinand Léopold Oyono : hommage à un classique africain / Gervais Mendo Ze. - Paris : Karthala, 2007

La prose romanesque de Ferdinand Oyono : essai d'analyse ethnostylistique / Gervais Mendo Ze. -Yaoundé : Presses universitaires d'Afrique [etc.], 2006

Chemin d'Europe : roman / Ferdinand Oyono. - [Paris] : Julliard, 1973

Le vieux nègre et la médaille : roman / Ferdinand Oyono. - Paris, 1968

Une vie de boy : roman / Ferdinand Oyono. - Paris : René Julliard, 1956

Listen also to 'Ferdinand Léopold Oyono: une brève et riche carrière', RFI, 2016

Timeline of Cameroonian novelists via Wikidata and DBpedia