Born in 1956, Gisèle Pineau is a French novelist, writer and former nurse. Although born in Paris, her origins are Guadeloupean and she has written several books on the difficulties and torments of her childhood as a Black person growing up in Parisian society. In her writings, she uses the oral tradition of storytelling in fictional works to reclaim the narratives of Caribbean culture. She also focuses on issues of racism and the effects it can have on a young girl trying to discover her own cultural identity. Her book L’Exil Selon Julia highlights this, as she relies on the memories and experiences of her aged grandmother to help her learn about her society’s traditions and her own cultural background. In the book, she also mentions that the discrimination she felt as a youngster did not only apply to French society in Paris, but also to the people of Guadeloupe, who rejected her for being too cosmopolitan upon her return to the land of her ancestors.
https://pitzer.zoom.us/j/89524460582
