Ferdinand Léopold Oyono

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Ferdinand Oyono was a French African writer, diplomat and politician from Cameroon who only published three novels in his lifetime:

Une vie de boy

(1956, translated as

Houseboy

),

Le Vieux nègre et la médaille

(1956,

The Old Man and the Medal

), and

Chemin d’Europe

(1960,

Road to Europe

)

.

Despite his limited output, he remains an important figure within French African literature as he was one of the first writers of the 1950s to depict European colonization without complacency. This trilogy was published when decolonization in Africa was at its peak. Cameroon got its independence from the France and Great Britain on January 1st, 1960 following a period of conflicts between French authorities and the independent movement UPC (Union des populations du Cameroon).

Each of Oyono’s novels

3469 words

Citation: Vernier, Béatrice. "Ferdinand Léopold Oyono". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 April 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13879, accessed 28 March 2024.]

13879 Ferdinand Léopold Oyono 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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