Congolese professor, writer, playwright, poet and literary critic
Pius Ngandu Nkashama was a professor, writer, playwright, poet and literary critic. He was born September 4, 1946 in Mbujimayi in the province of Kasai Oriental in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He died on December 19, 2023 in Baton-Rouge, Louisiana, US.
Education and academic career.
After earning a degree in philosophy and letters from Lovanium University in 1970, he was appointed assistant professor and then professor at the National University of Zaire (Lubumbashi). He also led the Centre for African Studies. In the late 1970s, he moved to France where he obtained in 1981 a Doctorate in Literature and Humanities at the University of Strasbourg. He then traveled the world, teaching in various universities (Annaba and Constantine in Algeria, Limoges and the Sorbonne in France). In 2000, he settled in the United States, working from then up through his final years as professor of French Language and Literature at Louisiana State University.
Awards.
In 2004, he received the Fonlon-Nichols Award, which recognizes African writers for "excellence in creative writing and contributions to the struggle for human rights and freedom of expression".
References.
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