Benjamin Matip

Benjamin Matip was one of the pioneering voices in Cameroon and African francophone literature. His works often addressed the relationship between Africa and Europe, the challenges of colonialism, and the importance of cultural identity. He is remembered for his ability to BLEND historical analysis with storytelling, making his contributions both academic and literary.

Biography

Benjamin Matip is a Cameroonian who was born on May 15, 1932, in Éséka, Centre region of Cameroon. He died on September 4, 2017, in Douala-Cameroon, at the age of 85. He studied in France, where he produced academic work on African diplomatic and social history. Matip was both a historian and a novelist. His early works were scholarly but he later turned to fiction and drama to express African realities and aspirations.

Literary Works

- Afrique, nous t’ignorons (1956)

- Histoire diplomatique et sociale de l’Afrique Noire du XVe au XVIIIe siècle (1957)- Heurts et malheurs des rapports Europe et Afrique noire dans l’histoire moderne.(du 15e au 18e siècle) (1859)

- À la belle étoile: contes et nouvelles d’Afrique(1962)1

- Laisse nous bâtir une Afrique debout (1979)

- Le rendez-vous de Tachkent (2020)