The Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde (or, the Prix Carbet of the Caribbean and Tout-Monde) is an annual award given to the best literary work in French or French Creole from the Caribbean and the Americas.
History
The Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde was founded at the initiative of the Carbet journal in 1990. It aims to promote creole writing and to contribute to a better understanding of the processes of creolization. It rewards works depicting the unity and diversity of the cultures of the Caribbean and the Americas. It is awarded annually in December. As of 2013 it is worth €5000.
Between 1994 and 2006, the prize was administered by Gérard Delver and the Association Tout-Monde de Guadeloupe. From 2007, it has been administered by the Institut du Tout-Monde.
The prize ceremony rotates between Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique and Île-de-France.
Rules
Works in any genre are acceptable to compete for the award. They should have been published between 1 October of the previous year and 30 September of the year of award. They should have been written either in French or Creole, or translated into these languages. The deadline for submission is 1 October of the year of award.
The jury meets in camera in December, and the announcement of the award is made the same month.
Jury
From inception till 2011, the prize was managed by Edouard Glissant, who selected and presided over the jury. In 2011, Patrick Chamoiseau was elected as the president of the prize.
From 1989 to 2009, was one of the members of the jury.
Since 2013, the jury has been composed of:
Ernest Pépin (Guadeloupe), Jury President Patrick Chamoiseau (Martinique) Rodolphe Alexandre (French Guiana) Michael Dash (Trinidad) Samia Kassab-Charfi (Tunisia) Diva Damato Barbaro (Brazil) Miguel Duplan (Martinique) Lise Gauvin (Quebec) Nancy Morejon (Cuba) Romuald Fonkoua (Paris) Évelyne Trouillot (Haiti)
Controversy
In 2009, Edouard Glissant and the award committee announced that they would give the prize not to a book or an oeuvre of an author, but rather for a "lifetime of work, possibly to the work of the spirit", and awarded it to an anti-colonial civil servant, Alain Plénel. The decision raised questions about the suitability of a politician for a literary award.
Winners
YearAuthor(s)WorkEnglishRef.(s)1990 Antan d'Enfance Childhood (trans. Carol Volk)1991L'odeur du caféAn Aroma of Coffee (trans. David Homel)1992 Pawol bwa sèk1993La Grande Drive des espritsThe Drifting of Spirits (trans. Michael Dash)1994 L'allée des Soupirs1995Les Urnes Scellées1996 For collected works1997DesiradaDesirada (trans. Richard Philcox)1998 For collected works1999La récolte douce des larmes (trans. Jacques Chabert)The Farming of Bones2000 O fugitif2001 For collected works2002Frankétienne H'éros-chimères2003Monchoachi For collected works 2004 Mr. Potter (trans. Juan Castillo Plaza)Mr. Potter 2005 Sinon l'enfance2006 Le trou de souffleur and L'Encre est ma demeure2007 L'Acier2008, For collected works2009 For anti-colonialism and humanism2010 La mémoire aux Abois2011 L'homme qui aimait les chiens (trans. René Solis, Elena Zayas) The Man Who Loved Dogs (trans. Anna Kushner)2012 La Havane, année zéro (trans. François Gaudry)2013 Parabole du failli2014 Faire l'aventure 2015Le Rêve de William Alexander Brown2016 For collected works2017By the rivers of Babylon2018Là où les chiens aboient par la queue
References