Véronique Tadjo

Véronique Tadjo (born 1955) is a writer, poet, novelist, and artist from Côte d'Ivoire. Having lived and worked in many countries within the African continent and diaspora, she feels herself to be pan-African, in a way that is reflected in the subject matter, imagery and allusions of her work.

Veronique Tadjo at the Salon du Livre 2011 in Geneva

Quotes

• Of course, it is fiction. It’s a style that I like. It’s not a very nice term but it is called faction. So you come from reality and fictionalize it.
  • [1] Tadjo spoke on her fiction work in 2022.
• I would say that although the monarchy has sometimes been challenged, it is nevertheless firmly rooted in the social fabric.
  • [2] Tadjon on Monarchy in 2022.
• I have always been fascinated by Nigeria because it is our neighbour. And you have so much to offer. I even wrote a book when I was in Nigeria. I tried to discover as much as I could because you are good with all the arts in Nigeria, traditional, modern and contemporary.
  • [3] Tadjo on Nigeria experience in 2022.
• People do not necessarily need a sovereign, but they certainly need someone who embodies a higher idea of the nation.
  • [4] Tadjo on Sovereign in 2022.
• The challenge is that sometimes if you are a writer you might get completely enmeshed. People want you to take sides. When there is a problem they always want you to take sides. I don’t really like it.
  • [5] Tadjo on challenges as a writer in 2022.
• Many people have mistakenly believed that military coups can have a progressive aspect to them. This is because, in the face of the power grab, the option of legality is no longer possible.
  • [6] Tadjo opinion on Military Coup in 2022.
• For me, literature is the place for all concerns. It is the act of reading, the act of writing and the act of engaging in deep reflection.
  • [7] Tadjo spoke on literature in 2022.
• It's only when we work together that we can defeat such threats to humanity. So I think that I would really, really like to see more solidarity within each country and across countries.
  • [8] Tadjo on Lessons from Ebola Pandemic in 2021.
• African tradition of storytelling which gives me a great freedom of interpretation of our myths and legends, greatly inspires me.
  • [9] Tadjo talk about her inspirations in 2017.
• I think African Literature is doing very well. It’s got a lot of exposure on the international fair but what is interesting about it is that its looking at different themes, various themes and that makes it more complex and richer.
  • [10] Tadjo opinion on African Literature in 2017.
• You need to look at the place without emotion to be rational. What does this place have to offer? What does the other place have?.
  • [11] Tadjo spoke on places in 2014.
• There are many types of documents that influence us, that have their own lives. It is these documents that inform reality, and help us understand by indirect means what happened.
  • [12] Tadjo talk about life in 2014.