The Mauritian poet and diplomat Édouard Maunick died this Saturday in Paris at the age of 89, we learned from his entourage.
Born in Flacq (Mauritius) in 1931, he had chosen the French language for his work, which began with the collection “
These birds of blood
” in 1954.
Read also: Giscard d'Estaing in Senegal in the footsteps of Senghor
This work, signed by a writer who called himself “
of mixed blood
”, evokes his love for a native country where interbreeding is the norm.
Described as a “
second generation negro poet
” by Léopold Sédar Senghor, who prefaced one of his works, he left for the French capital in 1960, penniless.
He was a journalist there, among others for France Culture and RFI radios and the weekly
Jeune Afrique
.
Édouard Maunick was Mauritius' ambassador to South Africa after the change of regime in 1994, he who had devoted to the new president of this country while he was imprisoned a
dead or alive Mandela
(1986).
He also made a career within Unesco in the years 1980-1990.
The Académie française has rewarded him twice: for having contributed to the “
influence of the French language and literature
” in 1990, and the Grand Prix de la Francophonie in 2003. A Mauritian poetry prize has been named after him since 2016 .