Tanella Boni is one of the most prominent figures in modern African literature. Born in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, she did her advanced studies in France, returning to Côte d’Ivoire as a professor of philosophy. She served as president of the Writers’ Association of Côte d’Ivoire from 1991 to 1997. Boni’s 2004 novel, Matins de couvre-feu (Mornings after curfew) received the Ahmadou Kourouma Prize. In 2009 she won the Antonio Viccaro International Poetry Prize. Her poetry collection, Là où il fait si clair en moi / There where it’s so bright in me, won the 2018 Prix Théophile Gautier from the French Academy.