A conversation with author Fiston Mwanza Mujila at SMU Oct. 2

Congolese Author Fiston Mwanza Mujila and his publisher will discuss his debut novel Tram 83 at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, in room 100 of Hyer Hall, 6424 Robert S. Hyer Lane, on the SMU campus.

Fiston Mwanza Mujila was born in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, where he studied Literature and Human Sciences at Lubumbashi University. He now lives in Graz, Austria and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Romance Languages. His writing has been awarded several prizes, including the Gold Medal at the 6^th Jeux de la Francophonie in Beirut as well as the Best Text for Theater from the State Theater in Mainz, Germany in 2010. His novel Tram 83 was a French Voices 2014 grant recipient. His poems, prose works, and plays are reactions to the political turbulence that has come in the wake of the independence of the Congo and its effect on day-to-day life.

As described by literary agency Pontas, “Tram 83 plunges the reader into the modern African gold rush, as cynical as it is comic and colorfully exotic, using jazz rhythms to weave a tale of human relationships in a world that has become a global village.” The novel, originally written in French, has been published in English by Dallas publisher Deep Vellum. Mujila and his publisher will discuss Tram 83, African literature, and the influence of literary translation on the circulation of African literature.

The event is sponsored by the SMU Department of World Languages and Literatures, Dedman College Dean Thomas DiPiero, and the Cultural Service at the French Embassy.

For more information about the event at SMU, contact Dayna Oscherwitz at oscherwi@smu.edu. 

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