Members of the Gens de la Caraïbe organization (and site) have chosen Maryse Condé as their central figure for the year 2011. They write: “Imagine a scene of a léwoz party with Maryse Condé at the center of a circle of dancers and gwoka players. This léwoz would be heard in all the villages of Guadeloupe, the hills of Martinique, the valleys of Cuba, the Jamaican countryside, but also in the imaginary of those who reside in Africa, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and beyond.”
Therefore, the Gens de la Caraïbe team has devoted sections of its site to Maryse Condé this year in order to transmit to their readers the desire to read or reread her work. One section is “Mise en ligne de témoignages,” dedicated to gathering on-line testimonial pieces written by people who have crossed paths with Condé or have been affected by her work. A second section is “Maryse Condé en langues,” a section dedicated to translations of her work. Condé’s oeuvre has been translated from French into many languages— Dutch, English, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, and Swedish, among others—but, surprisingly, not into Creole.
Among the latest novels published in other languages is the translation of Victoire, les saveurs et les mots into German, Victoire, ein Frauenleben im kolonialen Guadeloupe (2011) by Peter Trier. [This work was translated into English by Richard Philcox as Victoire, My Mother’s Mother. See previous post, An Interview with Maryse Condé.] On the site, you may read an excerpt in German from Victoire, ein Frauenleben im kolonialen Guadeloupe and listen to a reading of the excerpt by Ineke Phaf-Rheinberger. For original post (in French), see http://www.gensdelacaraibe.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4645&Itemid=GDC
Gens de la Caraïbe-Guadeloupe is calling for submissions to their photo contest on Maryse Condé. The contest runs from June 22 to September 21, 2011.
The photographs should capture people reading one of her novels. The ten most original photos will be chosen for a variety of prizes and will be published online with the artists’ permission (see more information in the links below).
Gens de la Caraïbe writes: “Be imaginative and free to represent yourself, or the person(s) of your choice, reading . . . Reworked photos and photomontages are accepted. Send your photos to info@gensdelacaraibe.org
(3 submissions maximum per household). Photos may be in color or black and white, indoors or outdoors (and must be a minimum of 300 pixels wide, 150 dpi, 20 KB, and a maximum of 600 KB). The cover of the book chosen (in any language) must be visible.”
For detailed guidelines (in French), see http://www.gensdelacaraibe.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4655&Itemid=200300
Founded in 1999 as an association, Gens de la Caraïbe is a network of people whose mission is to enhance, promote, and (re)inscribe Caribbean cultures around the world, in partnership with its various stakeholders and cultural organizations.