Mbella Sonne Dipoko

Mbella Sonne Dipoko (February 28, 1936 in Douala – December 5, 2009 in Tiko) was a novelist, poet and painter from Cameroon. He is widely considered to be one of the foremost writers of literature in English from Cameroon.[1]

Early life

Mbella Sonne Dipoko was born to Paul Sonne Dipoko, who was the Chief of Missaka. Mbella took over as Chief of Missaka after his father died in 1990.[2] As a young man, he worked for the Cameroon Development Corporation as an accounts clerk in the year 1956. The following year, 1957, he started working as a reporter for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation.[3] He stayed with the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation until the year 1968. During this period of employment with the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, he served as their reporter from France. In the year 1960 he started further studies in Paris, at the age of 24.[4] For a couple of years, he studied Law and Economics at Université de Paris, and then abandoned his studies to pursue his interest in writing. It was during this time when he was studying in Paris that he began his writing career. His first piece of writing was the novel A Few Nights and Days, which was published in the year 1966. That same year, he also wrote the piece "Helping the Revolution: a story",[5][6] which was set in apartheid-era South Africa. After publishing his third novel, he returned to university in America, where he studied and earned a degree in Anglo-American studies, with English as major.

Major works
  • A Few Nights and Days. London: Longman, 1966.
  • Because of Women. London: Heinemann Educational Books, 1969. African Writers Series, 57.
  • Black and White in Love. London: Heinemann Educational Books, 1972. African Writers Series, 107.

Other works
  • Helping the Revolution: a story. The New African, 1966
  • Inheritors of The Mungo. Présence Africaine, 1971[7]
  • My People. Présence Africaine, 1970[8]
  • Overseas. African Arts, 1970[9]
  • Palabres. Présence Africaine, 1967[10]
  • Pris au piège. Présence Africaine, 1962[11]
  • Our Life. Transition, 1963[12]
  • Creative Hope. Transition, 1962[13]
  • Transient Might. Transition, 1962[14]
  • Promise. Transition, 1962[15]
  • Cultural Diplomacy in African Writing. Africa Today, 1968[16]
  • The First Return. Présence Africaine, 1967[17]
  • Be a Guide. Transition, 1964 [18]
  • Mass Exile. Transition, 1964[19]
  • Racism and the Eloquence of May. Présence Africaine, 1968[20]
  • To Pre-Colonial Africa. Transition, 1964[21]
  • Our Destiny. Transition, 1964[22]
  • Progress. Présence Africaine, 1966[23]
  • Marching through marshes. Présence Africaine, 1963[24]

References
  1. "Cameroon Literature in English". anglocamlit.blogspot.com. 2007-11-24. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  2. "Who Killed Mbella Sonne Dipoko? | CameroonPostline". cameroonpostline.com. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  3. "Mbella Sonne Dipoko, Writer". www.cameroonweb.com. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  4. "In Memoriam: Mbella Sonne Dipoko - The Bard Who Dared To Be Different". Dibussi Tande: Scribbles from the Den. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  5. "The New African" (PDF).
  6. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne (1966-11-01). "Helping the revolution: a story". The New African Volume 5 Number 9 November 1966. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  7. DIPOKO, Mbella Sonne (1971). "Inheritors of The Mungo". Présence Africaine. 78 (2): 186–199. doi:10.3917/presa.078.0186. ISSN 0032-7638. JSTOR 24350364.
  8. DIPOKO, Mbella Sonne (1970). "My People". Présence Africaine. 73 (73): 148–155. doi:10.3917/presa.073.0148. ISSN 0032-7638. JSTOR 24348785.
  9. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne (1970). "Overseas". African Arts. 3 (4): 45–47. doi:10.2307/3345907. ISSN 0001-9933. JSTOR 3345907.
  10. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne; DIAKHATE, Lamine; KALA-LOBE, Iwiyé; DANIE, M. KABA; KALIBWAMI, Justin (1967). "Palabres". Présence Africaine (63): 236–248. ISSN 0032-7638. JSTOR 24348966.
  11. Dipok, Mbella Sonne (1962). "Pris au piège". Présence Africaine (41): 106–116. doi:10.3917/presa.041.0106. ISSN 0032-7638. JSTOR 24348082.
  12. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne (1963). "Our Life". Transition (10): 20. doi:10.2307/2934447. ISSN 0041-1191. JSTOR 2934447.
  13. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne (1962). "Creative Hope". Transition (6/7): 50. doi:10.2307/2934793. ISSN 0041-1191. JSTOR 2934793.
  14. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne (1962). "Transient Might". Transition (6/7): 50. doi:10.2307/2934794. ISSN 0041-1191. JSTOR 2934794.
  15. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne (1962). "Promise". Transition (6/7): 50. doi:10.2307/2934795. ISSN 0041-1191. JSTOR 2934795.
  16. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne (1968). "Cultural Diplomacy in African Writing". Africa Today. 15 (4): 8–11. ISSN 0001-9887. JSTOR 4184931.
  17. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne (1967). "The First Return". Présence Africaine. 64 (4): 168–178. doi:10.3917/presa.064.0168. ISSN 0032-7638. JSTOR 24349695.
  18. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne (1964). "Be a Guide". Transition (17): 42. doi:10.2307/2934146. ISSN 0041-1191. JSTOR 2934146.
  19. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne (1964). "Mass Exile". Transition (17): 42. doi:10.2307/2934147. ISSN 0041-1191. JSTOR 2934147.
  20. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne (1968). "Racism and the Eloquence of May". Présence Africaine. 68 (4): 187–191. doi:10.3917/presa.068.0187. ISSN 0032-7638. JSTOR 24348652.
  21. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne (1964). "To Pre-Colonial Africa". Transition (13): 32. doi:10.2307/2934423. ISSN 0041-1191. JSTOR 2934423.
  22. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne (1964). "Our Destiny". Transition (12): 20–21. doi:10.2307/2934485. ISSN 0041-1191. JSTOR 2934485.
  23. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne (1966). "Progress". Présence Africaine (57): 322–323. ISSN 0032-7638. JSTOR 24349330.
  24. Dipoko, Mbella Sonne (1963). "Marching through marshes". Présence Africaine (48): 170. ISSN 0032-7638. JSTOR 24348268.


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