Literature without borders

One land, one author: in Congo-Brazzaville with Fann Attiki, "Voices of Africa" ​​prize

Audio 29:00

Fann Attiki in the studio at RFI (August 31, 2021) winner of the 2021 “Voix d’Afriques” literary prize. © Pierre René-Worms / RFI

By: Catherine Fruchon-Toussaint

9 mins

The "Voix d'Afriques" literary prize initiated by RFI, Lattès editions in partnership with the Cité Internationale des Arts returns for a second edition.

After a call for writing from young writers on the African continent and the receipt of three hundred and fifty manuscripts, the 2021 winner is the young 29-year-old author Fann Attiki, rewarded for his first novel entitled "

Cave 72

", a fiction which takes place in Congo-Brazzaville, the laureate's native country.

(Replay)

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Voices of Africa Prize 2021 © JC Lattès

"Three young friends, Verdass, Ferdinand and Didi, meet every day at Cave 72, a bar, the ideal refuge where they forget their daily lives where everything seems to be ruled by the absurd: administrative hassles, political decisions, laws, the reasons for wars, love and divorce, the apparent passivity of men in the face of dictatorship... They discuss, drink, recite poems and return home without having harmed anyone. It is for this reason that a man, secretary to the National Security Council, will make them the designated culprits of a plot against the State and the President, providential guide of the nation. They become heroes in spite of themselves, obliged to defend themselves, to oppose the injustice of their condemnation,the heroes of their own life out of routine and boredom, the heroes of a people who have become accustomed to tolerating oppression and who suddenly rise up, brave the army, demanding the release of the three young and the reopening of Cave 72, which has become the symbol of resistance."

(Presentation of

JC Lattès

editions )

You should also listen to three other excerpts from the interview with Fann Attiki, which evokes

* Congolese youth

FANN ATTIKI and Congolese youth

* The Civil War of 1997

FANN ATTIKI and the Civil War of 1997

* The French language

FANN ATTIKI and the French language

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