In this episode of pplpod, we honor the life and legacy of Maryse Condé, the renowned French Guadeloupean novelist, critic, and playwright who passed away in April 2024 at the age of 90. Born in Pointe-à-Pitre as the youngest of eight children, Condé’s journey took her from the Caribbean to Paris, and eventually to West Africa, where she experienced a politically turbulent but formative period rubbing shoulders with figures like Malcolm X and Che Guevara.

We explore her prolific literary career, which began in earnest near age 40 with Hérémakhonon and reached international prominence with her historical epic, Ségou. We discuss her unique voice—one that rejected literary labels like Négritude and Créolité in favor of a style she described simply as writing "in Maryse Condé".

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