Aged 82, Maryse Condé who was born in Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) is the author of an important literary work made up of (novels, essays, children’s books, etc.) which promote the Guadeloupean culture and which has earned her many honors. After the Alternative Nobel Prize for Literature awarded by a special jury on October 12, 2018 in Stockholm (Sweden), she has just received the Grand-Croix de l’Ordre National du Mérite (Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit); this honorary order was instituted on December 3, 1963 by General de Gaulle. It must be said that Maryse Condé also taught in France (University of Paris) and in the United States (University of California at Los Angeles, Columbia University, University of California at Berkeley, University of Virginia), among others. The writer who is weakened by illness, currently lives in Gordes (Vaucluse), France.
In a press release dated December 3, the Ministry of Overseas, led by Minister Annick Girardin, announced that “Guadeloupean writer Maryse Condé, academic, novelist and great lady of French literature Maryse Condé, has been decorated with the insignia of Grand-Croix de l’Ordre national du Mérite (Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit).
Maryse Condé’s work, which combines fiction, autobiography and essays, is deeply rooted in contemporary postcolonial and feminist thought. Maryse Condé who was born in 1937 won numerous literary prizes, including the new academic prize for literature, created in 2018 alternately to the Nobel Prize for Literature. Maryse Condé is also an officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour and Commander of the Order of Arts of Letters.
Second National Order after the Legion of Honour, the National Order of Merit today includes 185,000 members rewarded for their “distinguished merits”, shown during at least ten years “either in the civil service, civilian or military, or in the exercise of a private activity “(Decree of 3 December 1963 creating the National Order of Merit).
The civil promotion of the national order of the Merit published today in the Official Journal has 989 people including 811 Knights, 145 Officers, 26 Commanders, 5 Great Officers and 2 Great Cross”.
