Patrice Nganang


Alain Patrice Nganang is a Cameroonian writer, poet and teacher.
He was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon and was educated in Cameroon and Germany. He was awarded a Ph.D. in comparative literature at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. During 2006-2007 he was the Randolph Distinguished Visiting Associate Professor of German Studies at Vassar College. He was an instructor at the Shippensburg University until 2007, and is now a Professor of Comparative Literature at Stony Brook University. His 1999 novel Temps de chien was awarded the Prix Littéraire Marguerite Yourcenar in 2001 and the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire in 2002.

Disappearance and Arrest

On December 7, 2017 Nganang was reported missing at the Douala airport where he was to catch a flight on Kenya Airways to Harare, Zimbabwe, the day after publishing an article on the site Jeune Afrique, criticising Mr Biya's government for its handling of protests by English-speaking Cameroonians. Mr Nganang was detained for three weeks as he was about to fly out of his country of birth

Release and Deportation

On December 27, 2017 a judge in Cameroon ordered his release. He was deported back to the US, where he also holds a dual citizenship

Essays