Writer and historian Marie George Thébia, from French Guiana, author of Mon nom est Copena (My Name is Copena), The first Guyanese historical novel for children and young people, released in 2019, participated this Monday (20) in the opening of the XXIX Seminar of Theses in Progress (Seta), of the Institute of Language Studies (IEL), in its first commitment in Brazil, in a visit inserted in the context of the France-Brazil Season 2025. After this presentation at Unicamp, the project “The Brazilian and Francophone Feminine Peripheral Literature of French Guiana” will be the theme of events at the Afro Museum and Senac-SP, both in the capital of São Paulo, and in São Bernardo do Campo, in the ABCD region.
Recognized for her work on topics related to the memory and history of French Guiana, the author, who was among the first to translate the oral tradition of French Guianese tales into writing, addresses slavery and the pre-Columbian period, as well as questions of identity. Her works also address current issues, such as illegal mining and trafficking in the Amazon region. "I believe my literature directly engages with the reality of Brazil's periphery, with stories about slavery, colonization, and miscegenation," she states.
Mon nom est Copena is part of a trilogy, along with Aïyana chasseuse de fourmis (Aïyana, Ant Hunter, 2020), and Saül et les poussières d'or (Saul and the Gold Dust, 2021), books popular with young people in French Guiana. "I've been teaching there for four years, and the students really enjoy Marie George's literature," says Brazilian Sabrina Mendes Thibault, a Brazilian literature teacher in Cayenne at the Lycée Melkior et Garré – Brazilian International Section, a partner institution in the project, who is accompanying the writer on this trip to Brazil. "She has been important in reinforcing the interest in reading among young people," adds Thibault, who coordinates educational projects with bilingual youth in the Amazon region.
In her encounter with Brazilian peripheral literature, Thébia mentions author Conceição Evaristo and her books, which explore themes such as racism and social violence. "She's a pleasant surprise; I found her formidable. I notice that so-called peripheral literature is written by women, with a strong Afro-Brazilian heritage, matriarchal, and single mothers. It may sound cliché, but it's a reality; the situations are practically the same. They're called strong women, but they became strong because they're alone and need to survive," she highlights. "I realize that the most important thing in the search for identity is tolerance."
Thébia, who previously came to Brazil to research the influence of African religions in Bahia, emphasizes that in French Guiana, "the orishas were lost." "Afro-Brazilian religious culture was completely absorbed by Christianity. I was impressed by what I saw in Bahia and used much of what I researched there in Copena's book, which tells the story of a boy who was rebaptized and, based on his grandmother's memories, embraced his identity, which had been erased by evangelization," she emphasizes.
The book, an introductory journey, also provides pedagogical and historical information on the enslavement perpetrated by French colonizers. "For example, I explain the 'black code,' a 1685 guide that regulated the treatment of enslaved people and the punishments for each infraction," adds the author, who reveals that Copena is based on a real character, a slave from the Montagne Plomb quilombola community who hid in the forest for 12 years. "The forests allowed enslaved people to prove they could exist outside the colonial system."
Thébia has published seven books and received the award Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (Drac) for his tale The Mango Tree, in 1999. In 2006, he won the René-Maran Prize for another short story: Bois d'ébène. And in 2016, his first novel, La Vie Bidim d'Ambrosia Nelson, was a finalist for the Carbet Caribe Award. Still unpublished in Portuguese, the author says one of her dreams is to launch her books in Brazil. During her stay, she will meet with publishers and plans to participate in literary fairs in the near future. For now, for those interested, she donated copies of her work to the Antonio Candido Library at the IEL.
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