Ken Bugul

Ken Bugul, born in Senegal in 1947 as Mariétou Biléoma Mbaye, is a Senegalese writer. She studied in Senegal and Belgium. Her pen name comes from Wolof and means roughly “one who is unwanted.” After returning from Belgium, she married and became the 28th wife in a harem. She later worked as an art dealer in Benin. In 2000, she received the Grand Prix Littéraire de l’Afrique Noire.