Simone Schwarz-Bart

Simone Schwarz-Bart, née Brumant, was born possibly in Saintes, in western France, or in Pointe-à-Pitre on on the island of Guadeloupe, as she had stated both. She was living in France with her parents, who were originally from Guadeloupe, at the start of World War II. Her father stayed to fight with the French army, while she and her mother returned to Guadeloupe.

At the age of 18, while studying in Paris, she met André Schwarz-Bart, who encouraged her to take up writing as a career. The couple married in 1961 and lived with their two children in Senegal, Switzerland, Paris, and Guadeloupe.

Together they wrote two historical novels: Un plat de porc aux bananes vertes (A Plate of Green Bananas, 1967) and La Mulâtresse Solitude (A Woman Named Solitude, 1972). In 1989, they wrote a six-volume encyclopaedia called Hommage à la femme noire (In Praise of Black Women).

In 1972, she independently wrote Pluie et vent sur Télumée Miracle (The Bridge of Beyond), which is considered one of the masterpieces of Caribbean literature. She has since published several other novels.

Simone Schwarz-Bart has also written for the theater, including a one-act play, Ton beau capitaine (Your Handsome Captain).