Publications in foreign languages and translations are some of the main indicators to look at when it comes to discussing the globality of a national literature. However, in spite of the determination of several Gabonese literary critics to keep emphasising the vitality, in terms of quality and quantity, of Gabonese literature, there are no studies on these two topics. The aim of our article is to fill this void by focusing, from the point of view of the sociology of translation, on the relative importance of the works concerned, on the motivation of translators and on the mechanisms of international circulation of Gabonese writings.