Bernardine Evaristo was born in Great Britain to a Nigerian father and an English mother. Militant, activist, playwright, she co-founded the Théâtre des Femmes Noires in 1982 and created the international prize for African poetry. She is also vice-president of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2019, she shared the prestigious Man Booker Prize with Canadian Margaret Atwood, for her eighth book “ girl, woman, other which made her the first black recipient of this award.
“What if Africa had conquered the world? What if the masters had become slaves?
Born into an English farming family, kidnapped by traffickers and resold in Aphrika, Doris was enslaved by Chief Kaga Konata Katamba I, whose initials – KKK – are carved into her skin. But when she tries to escape, on the evening of the Voodoo mass, she comes up against the violence of an entire society based on the exploitation of its people. Dispatched to the sugar cane fields, Doris, under the benevolent grip of the Viking Ye Mémé, will discover the culture of slaves and reconnect with her blonde roots…
In this uchronic fable which owes as much to Lewis Carroll as to Toni Morrison, Bernardine Evaristo reverses the colors of history to better dismantle and denounce the mechanisms of domination at work in our societies. (Presentation of Globe editions)
“Never give up: this is the motto that Bernardine Evaristo has never ceased to follow throughout her extraordinary career. Born of a Nigerian worker and an English teacher, the author of Girl, woman, other – who won her the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood – tells here about her childhood in the London suburbs of the 1960s, her trials, racism, injustices, but also the unquenchable and joyful faith that guided her in her many adventures.
Self-portrait of the artist as a rebellious, passionate and jack-of-all-trades woman, Manifesto takes us behind the scenes of a hectic life, made up of travels, loves, poetry, theater and commitments. This intimate text takes a fresh look at some of the essential issues of our time – feminism, sexuality, activism, communalism.
With panache, humor and generosity, Bernardine Evaristo invites us, each and everyone, to become what we are, against and against all forms of oppression.” (Presentation of Globe editions)