Cheikh Hamidou Kane

Born in Matam, Senegal, Cheikh Hamidou Kane attended a traditional Quranic school until the age of ten, when he switched to a French school. He went on to study law and philosophy in Paris before returning to Senegal to work for the government. He published his first novel, Ambiguous Adventure, in French in 1961; the autobiographical work won the Grand Prix Littéraire d’Afrique Noire.