Prix Goncourt-winning author reflects on writing during roundtable conference

| Staff Writer

Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, the 2021 winner of France’s most prestigious literary prize, the Prix Goncourt, gave a talk titled “(In)visible writer, for whom do you sing?” during a conference sponsored by the French Connexions Center of Excellence on Oct. 30.

Born in Dakar, Senegal and having studied in Paris, Sarr was the first writer from sub-Saharan Africa to be awarded the Prix Goncourt, specifically for his fourth novel “The Most Secret Memory of Men.” Recounting a fascinating story of the discovery of a novel by a young Senegalese writer living in Paris, this novel has been widely acclaimed throughout the Francophone world.

During the discussion, Sarr reflected on the purpose and address of writing itself, as well as the experience of writing with and without recognition, between the “center” and the “periphery” of the literary stage. He encouraged students and guests to stay authentic to their personal identity and origin in their own writing and expression.

After a brief introduction from Professor Lionel Cuillé, Sarr started his talk by recounting criticisms he received about “not being African enough” in his style and “only writing for white people.”

These criticisms led him to ponder the true audience of his work. He asked himself: “What does it mean to write for Africans, or about Africans? Who am I writing for?”

Sarr mentioned Toni Morrison as an author who “spent her life answering these questions.” He believes that Morrison “write[s] for Black Americans, and therefore for all Americans, and ultimately, for all human beings who understand how a common existential theme is manifested in a particular history marked by violence.”

“What truly matters at the heart of it all is that by sharing the same human experience, the reader feels connected to them, intimate with them; all of this should be evident for all writers,” he added, emphasizing that the audience should become “universal.”

Sarr then shifted into a discussion of the contrast between “the center and the periphery, the core and the margin” — one that describes his source of creativity and his personal stories at the same time. He elicited characters in his award-winning novel for clarifying the contrast.

“At the beginning of the [novel] a group of young African writers are writing from the ghetto, from this marginal space — these African writers writing in French, dreaming of making a career in France, and being recognized by the French literary milieu,” he said.

Sarr then pointed out the underlying difficulties of being recognized in France for these African writers.

“The path is this enviable status in [French] society, where they carry the weight of a history they did not experience, but is still their own history, which requires compromises, shared humiliation, and perhaps even betrayals,” he said.

According to him, African writers on the “periphery” had to write about the trauma of African colonization in a way that catered to the French audience.

Upon receiving the Prix Goncourt, Sarr said that he is no longer an “invisible writer” like the protagonists in his book.

Coming out of the “periphery” of his African origin and becoming part of the “center” in the French literary milieu, he addressed the question of mediating the contrast between the center and the periphery for himself.

“I’m African, Senegalese; I lived for almost twenty years in Senegal before going to France,” he said. Sarr speaks and writes his work in French, yet he also speaks other languages from Senegal.

“I continue to write without forgetting where I come from, without forgetting the ambiguities of the margin, the space of invisibility, but also the space of great freedom, inventiveness, joy, and solidarity,” he said.

“I am not saying that I’m avoiding the world, its problems, its tension, and its pain. I’m simply saying that I am, first and foremost, a writer, and that language is my way of understanding the world,” he clarified further.

Bringing the two topics of address and contrast together, he concluded that one may never be able to anticipate one’s audience, which eventually permeates into both the “center” and the “periphery.”

“A literary text will always exceed its presumed recipient, presumed by cultural identity, national identity, political proximity, and so on,” he said.

During the roundtable, English professor Ama Bemma Adwetewa-Badu asked Sarr to discuss the obstacles he encountered in staying true to his authentic African self while making his novels marketable to a French audience.

Sarr explained that the publishing houses in France expected African authors to “be African, but not too much” — some “exoticism” is expected, but not too detached from what the audience in France knows about Africa.

Nevertheless, he noted that “French publishing houses are becoming aware of the post-colonial point of view — there is less and less absurdity of telling African writers to cope [with the market demand].”

Professor Nathan Dize asked him about how he would still honor the “margin” upon becoming part of the “center.”

“I would put the texts from the margin and those from the center on the same shelf in the library of the world,” Sarr said. He said that universal literature springs out of the “literary spark” resulting from interactions amongst the perspectives of both the center and the periphery.

Sarr hoped that his presence can bring more “perspective,” from both a French and African angle, to his audience’s understanding of Francophone literature.

“The library of the world, in a personal sense, has to stay open,” he said, stressing the importance of attending to diverse perspectives in writing.

Sarr also encouraged the student body to read more, especially during the hectic college years.

“Our minds have become battlefields now; it is more important to just keep some space for reading, and deep reading,” he said. “I know we don’t have much time nowadays, yet it is still important to keep some space for reading great literature.”

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