Adrienne Yabouza

Adrienne Yabouza (born 1965) is a writer from the Central African Republic. She is of Yakoma heritage. She has written several novels and a book for children, a number of which were penned in collaboration with French writer Yves Pinguilly.

Life

Yabouza began writing when she was ten years old. As a young woman she fled the civil war in the Central African Republic and traveled to the Republic of the Congo; from there she fled to France, where she demanded political asylum. She never attended any institution of higher education.

Yabouza was a hairdresser for many years in Bangui, and has held numerous other jobs throughout her career. She lives in the Lakouanga neighborhood of Bangui. She writes in French, and also speaks Sango and Lingala in addition to Yakoma. Her work deals with the difficulties facing women in her home country; the first three of her novels were intended to be viewed as a trilogy. Widowed, she has five children and is a grandmother.

Works

• La défaite des mères, novel (2008) (with Yves Pinguilly)
• Bangui… allowi, novel (2009) (with Yves Pinguilly)
• Le bleu du ciel biani biani, novel (2010) (with Yves Pinguilly)
• Coup d’état, novella, published under the pseudonym Auguste Komelo Nikodro (2010)
• La maltraite des veuves, novel (2013)
• Comme des oiseaux, book for children (2015)
• Co-épouses et co-veuves, novel (2015)