Log in
Donate

Talent

fiston_mwanza_mujila_j_rgen_fuchs1_w700jpg_w627_h627_bg_skdcbm.jpg

0.000

Fiston Mwanza Mujila

  • Social media:

Biography

born in Lubumbashi (Democratic Republic of the Congo), studied literature and humanities there. In 2007, Mwanza Mujila left the Congo and subsequently lived in Belgium, Germany, France, and, after being invited to Graz as the “Stadtschreiber” (writer-in-residence) in 2009/2010, in Austria. Fiston Mwanza Mujila is pursuing a PhD in Romance Studies at the University of Graz, where he teaches African literature. He writes poetry and short stories as well as for the theater. His texts have been staged in France, Congo, Germany and Austria. The play “Zur Zeit der Königinmutter” (2018) was performed at the Akademietheater (Vienna) and the Deutsches Theater Berlin. In his texts, Fiston Mwanza Mujila reflects on the chaos, the civil wars, the decades of Mobutu’s dictatorship that have (did) shape his homeland since its independence from Belgium in 1960. The author repeatedly circles around the themes of loneliness and exile; in the bilingual long poem “Le Fleuve dans le Ventre/ The River in the Belly,” they structure the text as formative elements. Here, a first-person character tells of child soldiers, illness, disfigurement, and again and again of the Congo River, which stands for life and identity in their threatened state. The “I” carries this river “in its belly” in order to spew it out from time to time, just as it spews out the dirt of history and a spoiled meal,” says Ilma Rakusa in the NZZ. About the Congo River, Fiston Mwanza Mujila himself says: “This watercourse inspired me so much that I felt obliged to dedicate a collection of poems to it […] There is an ambiguity in this river […]. For some, it symbolizes the greatness of Africa and could feed the whole continent. But it strikes, does nothing. When conflicts break out, it sets about carrying away the bodies.”

News / Ranking / Titbits / Awards

Dramatikerstipendium des Bundesministeriums für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur, Wien, Austria, 2014. Literaturförderungsstipendium der Stadt Graz, Austria, 2014. Grand Prix SGDL du Premier Roman, France, 2014. French Voices Award, USA, 2015. PEN Translates award des english PEN, Großbritannien, 2015. Etisalat Prize for Literature, Africa. 2016. nominated for the Man Booker International Prize, 2016. Grands Prix des Associations Littéraires, Africa, 2016. Internationaler Literaturpreis/ Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Germany, 2017. Junge Akademie, Akademie der Künste, Germany, 2017. Peter-Rosegger-Literaturpreis, Austria, 2018. Prix Littéraire “Les Afriques”, 2021. shortlisted for the Sarah Maguire Prize for Poetry in Translation, 2022. shortlisted for the Luschei Prize for African Poetry, 2022.

Interested in this talent?

Get in touch with us to help you get started

Fill this form

Our Partner and Supporter

Together, we're building a legacy of inspiration and opportunity.

Air-Peace-Stack-Blue_200305_154114
Piggyvest-Stack-Blue_200304_153734
Ibom-Air-Stack-Blue_200304_154259
kuda-Stack-Blue_200304_154345