Josué Guébo

Josué Yoroba Guébo, or Josué Guébo (born July 21, 1972), is an Ivorian academic and man of letters. A major figure of African contemporary poetry, he is also a short story writer, playwright, essayist and author of children's literature. 6th President of the Ivoirian Writers' Association (AECI), he is the recipient of the Bernard Dadié Grand Prize and the U Tam'si Prize.

A philosopher, he is the founder and Chairman of the Ivoirian Society of Transhumanism (SIVOT).

Biography
Josué Yoroba Guébo was born on July 21, 1972, in Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d'Ivoire. He started writing poetry while still young. He wrote his first poem when he was twelve or thirteen years old. His interest for literature led him to read the works of Aimé Césaire or those of Paul Verlaine. He was also influenced by the great African writers he discovered during his school and university course. Holder of a PhD in History and Philosophy of Sciences, Josué Guébo is also teacher-researcher.

Literary awards

 * 1998: Award of RFI writing contest " 3 heures pour écrire " (3 hours to write) ;
 * 2000: First AECI National Poetry Prize for " Noël, un fusil nous est né " (Christmas, a gun is born to us) ;
 * 2007: First Prize in Poetry " Les Manuscrits d'or " for " C'était hier " (That Was Yesterday) ;
 * 2007: First Prize in Short Stories " Les Manuscrits d'or " for " Confidences d'une pièce de 25 Francs " (Confessions of a 25 francs coin) ;
 * 2014: Tchicaya U Tam'si Prize for African Poetry for Think of Lampedusa ;
 * 2017: Bernard Dadié national grand prize for literature for Aux chemins de Babo Naki (Babo Naki's paths).

Other distinctions

 * 2012 : Knight of the Ivorian Cultural Merit