Meet Dr. Marie-José Nzengou-Tayo

Here is part 4 of our INNERviews with scholars who contributed to Meridian‘s Pawòl Fanm Sou Douz Janvye, edited by Dr. Gina A. Ulysse. Other contributors include: photographer Regine “Gigi” Romain, writer Katia D. Ulysse, professors Nadeve Menard, Myriam Chancy, and Mark Schuller.

Marie-José Nzengou-Tayo is a Senior Lecturer in French at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus and a former head of the Department of Modern Languages & Literatures (2005-2011).  Her area of specialization is the literature and culture of the French-speaking Caribbean: Haiti, Martinique, and Guadeloupe.

In 2004, she was awarded the distinction of Palmes académiques, at the rank of Chevalier. She is a past president of the Haitian Studies Association (2005-2006).  Her most recent publications are: “From Negritude to Créolité: Francophone Influence in Caribbean Literatures. Anja Bandau and Marta Zapata Galindo. El Caribe y sus Diásporas: Cartografías de saberes y prácticas culturales.  Madrid: Editorial Verbum, 2011: 200-216. “Un pacte avec le Diable: l’écrivain haïtien et la malédiction du pouvoir dans le roman de Gary Victor, Je sais quand Dieu vient se promener dans mon Jardin.” In Nadève Ménard’s «Écrits d’Haïti, perspectives sur la littérature haïtienne contemporaine (1986-2006).  Paris : Karthala, 2011: 445-459

Read the INNERview: Fleeting Images