Joseph Zobel (26 April 1915 – 18 June 2006) is the Martinican author of several novels and short-stories in which social issues are at the forefront. Although his most famous novel, La Rue Cases-Nègres, was published some twenty years after the great authors of Negritude published their works, Zobel was once asked if he considered himself "the novelist of Negritude". The novel was adapted for the screen by Euzhan Palcy in 1983 as Sugar Cane Alley.
Biography
Literary beginnings and influences
Born in Martinique, Joseph Zobel grew up with the support and unconditional love of his grandmother and his mother. His mother, Delia, was forced to work as a nanny for a Békés (white Creoles) family, the Des Grotte family, in Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique.
Young Zobel was a brilliant student, earning himself a scholarship that allowed him to pursue an education and finish high school. After finishing his high school studies, he had hoped to study architecture in Paris. Unfortunately, he did not have the funds or another scholarship to help pay for such endeavors. Instead, he got his first job with the Corps of Bridges, Waters and Forests which forced him to move closer to the water in South Martinique, specifically to the towns of Diamant and Saint-Esprit. His time in Diamant and Saint-Esprit allowed him to become well acquainted with the local fishermen and to learn more about their lifestyle, which would later influence his popular novel La Rue Cases-Nègres. Despite gaining an appreciation for the lifestyle on the coast, he couldn't forget the values he grew up with in the more rural inland of Martinique.
During World War II, there was a blockade on the French West Indies preventing anybody, including Zobel, from leaving Martinique or traveling to France.
Time in France and literary career
In 1946, Zobel took advantage of his administrative leave and went to Paris to continue his studies. In Sorbonne, he took courses in literature, dramatic art, and ethnology. Additionally, he earned a position as an assistant professor at the Lycée International François-Ier in Fontainebleau.
Settled in this city with his wife and three children, Zobel devoted the 1950s to intense literary activity and writing. He published numerous novels such as Les Jours Immobiles and La Fête à Paris. He also wrote many poems which he recited at various festivals in France, Switzerland, and Italy. Most notably, in 1950, Zobel published one of his principle works, La Rue Cases-Nègres, a story greatly influenced by his childhood and time in Martinique. The story recounts a child, without much experience in the world, and a grandmother, who is experienced but softens her perspective of the world, resulting in a rare testimony to the West Indian Black community at the time. The Éditions Albin Michel refused to publish the text because of the Creole-inspired phrases. It was Alioune Diop who finally published La Rue Cases-Nègres in his newly created publishing house and magazine, Présence Africaine. The novel proceeded to go down in history in France and in the African continent.
Retirement and final publications
Retiring in 1974,