Tribute: Maryse Condé

Maryse Condé (February 11, 1934 – April 2, 2024) was a Guadeloupean novelist, critic, playwright, and Professor Emerita of French at Columbia University.

During her tenure at Columbia, “She deployed an enormous activity organizing public events for students and scholars […], and single-handedly established the field of Francophone literature at Columbia,” recalls Pierre Force, Professor of French and History at Columbia. 

One such student is Maboula Soumahoro, associate professor in the English Department of the University of Tours, who, with Pierre Force, discussed their friendship and teaching experiences with Maryse Condé in a Library Chat, hosted by the Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris. They spoke about her unclassifiable œuvre, her significant contribution to Caribbean, African, and women’s literature…and her great cooking. 

Her former colleagues remember her as someone who was generous with her time in spite of her enormous activity as writer and scholar. “Maryse Condé was a loyal friend who remained in close touch with former colleagues after she retired,” recalls Pierre Force. 

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