Scholastique Mukasonga

Scholastique Mukasonga (born 1956) is a French-Rwandan author, widely regarded as Rwanda's most celebrated writer. She writes in French and is best known for her novel Our Lady of the Nile (2012), which won the Prix Renaudot and the Prix Ahmadou-Kourouma, and for memoirs such as Cockroaches and The Barefoot Woman about the persecution of Rwanda's Tutsi and the loss of her family in the 1994 genocide. Her work explores mourning and remembrance, female community, education, and the legacy of colonial and missionary rule. Quotes "There are few Rwandan writers, and among them, even fewer women." Interview with Scholastique Mukasonga The White Review (October 2020), translated from the French by Julian Lucas "As a child, I didn't have many chances to write." Speaking at the Sharjah Festival of African Literature. Conflict led Rwandan author to write 'Our Lady of the Nile' Gulf Today (January 18, 2026) Mama, I wasn’t there to cover your body and all I have left is words… over and over, my sentences weave a shroud for your missing body. Scholastique Mukasonga said, At the start (The Guardian, Sun 3 Apr 2022 ) I’m probably an atypical writer. I didn’t have time to go looking for a model. I had an urgent duty of remembrance to perform, because I was living with the threat of losing that memory. Interview with Scholastique Mukasonga. thewhitereview.org (October 9, 2026) When I started writing, in a little blue notebook that I always kept with me, I had no intention of publishing. I was saving memory. Interview with Scholastique Mukasonga. thewhitereview.org (October 9, 2026) My father, who did not know French, demanded that his children speak ‘a beautiful Kinyarwanda’. No doubt I inherited my care for language from him. Interview with Scholastique Mukasonga. thewhitereview.org (October 9, 2026) I prefer to call myself a storyteller, as Rwandan mothers should be, because, as the saying goes, The one who tells a story has no hatred in their heart. Interview with Scholastique Mukasonga. thewhitereview.org (October 9, 2026) The beauty of Rwanda’s landscape, which invites viewers to discover the country from a different perspective than that of the genocide. Interview with Scholastique Mukasonga. thewhitereview.org (October 9, 2026) Becoming a social worker was without a doubt the only choice of my life. I believed that it would allow me to bring knowledge to those who had been excluded in the villages, to be their spokesperson with local authorities, and to extricate them from their marginalisation. Interview with Scholastique Mukasonga. thewhitereview.org (October 9, 2026) I’ve always said that being a social worker isn’t just about giving. One receives much in return. Interview with Scholastique Mukasonga. thewhitereview.org (October 9, 2026) Writing, to me, also means lending my pen to those with no access to literature. Interview with Scholastique Mukasonga. thewhitereview.org (October 9, 2026) I’ve tried to catch up, often on the Internet, which offers many opportunities if you have the time and patience. Interview with Scholastique Mukasonga. thewhitereview.org (October 9, 2026) Just as every individual counts, each language counts. Its value is not reducible to the number of its speakers. Any language, from the moment it allows an individual or a group of individuals to express themselves and thus to exist, ought to be preserved and considered among the riches of humanity. Interview with Scholastique Mukasonga. thewhitereview.org (October 9, 2026) To write about the new Rwanda, I’d have to really settle there – not just what I do now. Interview with Scholastique Mukasonga. thewhitereview.org (October 9, 2026) One reason I look to the past is because in that past, Rwandans lived together, without artificial differences, all children of the same father. Interview with Scholastique Mukasonga. thewhitereview.org (October 9, 2026) One looks towards that dignity of the past to build anew. So, I’m going to write about the new Rwanda – that’s an obligation – but with a foundation in Rwandan tradition. Not in the void. Interview with Scholastique Mukasonga. thewhitereview.org (October 9, 2026) But I believe that I will never stop writing about Rwanda: there is so much more to write about this lost, murdered, recovering, reborn country. Interview with Scholastique Mukasonga. thewhitereview.org (October 9, 2026) External links Category:Women from Rwanda Category:Writers Category:1956 births Category:Living people