Person
Patrice Nganang
From Wikipedia
Alain Patrice Nganang (born 1970) is an American writer, poet and teacher of Cameroonian origin, a member of the Bamileke people. He authored the poetry collections elobi (1995) and Apologie du Vandale (2006). As a literature scholar, his research examines violence and post-colonial African literature and culture. He earned a Master's degree from the University of Yaounde in 1992.
He was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and was educated in Cameroon and Germany. He was awarded a Ph.D. in comparative literature at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. During 2006–2007, he was the Randolph Distinguished Visiting Associate Professor of German Studies at Vassar College. He was an instructor at the Shippensburg University until 2007, and is now a Professor of Comparative Literature at Stony Brook University. The African Literature Association shortlisted him for the Fonlon-Nichols Award for Extraordinary Achievements in Scholarships and literature in 2003. He is the head of Department of Africana studies at Stony Brook University, US.
His 1999 novel Temps de chien was awarded the Prix Littéraire Marguerite Yourcenar in 2001 and the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire in 2002.
Disappearance and arrest
On December 7, 2017, Nganang was reported missing at the Douala airport where he was to catch a flight on Kenya Airways to Harare, Zimbabwe, the day after publishing an article on the site Jeune Afrique, criticising Paul Biya's government for its handling of protests by English-speaking Cameroonians. Nganang was detained for three weeks as he was about to fly out of his country of birth
Release and deportation
On December 27, 2017, a judge in Cameroon ordered his release. Nganang was deported back to the US, where he also holds dual citizenship.
This record is provisional: it was compiled from the cited sources but has not yet been checked by an InsideKamer editor.
Sources
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
