Goncourt Prize: “I am overwhelmed with joy”, reactions in Dakar to the announcement of the 2021 winner – franceinfo

The emotion was palpable in the house of writers in Dakar when the 2021 Goncourt Prize was announced. “There I can not hold back, confides the author Pape Faye, his eyes red with emotion. “I am overwhelmed with joy, adds the writerMy body shook like it never shook in the past. My body sang like it has never sung in the past. My tears my eyes, everything answered. We are feathered men. We are not just men of the sea. “

At 31, Senegalese Mohamed Mbougar Sarr becomes the first writer from sub-Saharan Africa to be honored with the most prestigious French literary prize for his novel The Most Secret Memory of men, published by Philippe Rey editions. A distinction hailed in his country of Senegal. And che prize is that of all Africans, insists Djibril Diallo Falémé, writer and professor of literature. “Today, it is we who are in the spotlight. We, Senegalese writers, we, writers from black Africa. So, you can imagine the emotion that is mine and all the pleasure that I have. “

“We needed this prize in black Africa and by the grace of God, he is the one who has it. We are proud!”

Djibril Diallo Falémé, writer and professor of literature

to franceinfo

And all these Senegalese writers are convinced of it: the Goncourt prize obtained by Mohamed MBougar Sarr will mark generations of Africans.