Dirty Feet - Edem Awumey [42]
The engine coughed. In front of Askia, a brutal shaft of light pierced the windshield, the cellar door. The shaft of light burned the door, blowing it to pieces. The black jackets and steel bars started once again to strike. And the little scamps from the garbage dump in Trois-Collines finally killed Pontos, Father Lem’s dog, which was not entitled to join in their games.
Acknowledgements
The translator is grateful to the Centre national du livre (France) and to the Canada Council for the Arts for their financial assistance.
About the Author
EDEM AWUMEY was born in Togo in 1975. His first novel, Port-Mélo, won the Grand prix littéraire d’Afrique noire, one of the most distinguished literary prizes in Africa, and his second novel, the French edition of Dirty Feet (Les pieds sales), was a finalist for one of France’s most prestigious literary prizes, the Prix Goncourt. Awumey now lives in Canada, where he is a teacher.
About the Translator
LAZER LEDERHENDLER’s translations of contemporary Québécois fiction have garnered distinctions and nominations for literary prizes in Canada and the UK. His translation of Nicolas Dickner’s Nikolski won the Governor General’s Literary Award as well as the Quebec Writers’ Federation Award, and his translation of Gaétan Soucy’s The Immaculate Conception was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and won the Quebec Writers’ Federation Award. He lives in Montreal.
About the Publisher
HOUSE OF ANANSI PRESS was founded in 1967 with a mandate to publish Canadian-authored books, a mandate that continues to this day even as the list has branched out to include internationally acclaimed thinkers and writers. The press immediately gained attention for significant titles by notable writers such as Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, George Grant, and Northrop Frye. Since then, Anansi’s commitment to finding, publishing and promoting challenging, excellent writing has won it tremendous acclaim and solid staying power. Today Anansi is Canada’s pre-eminent independent press, and home to nationally and internationally bestselling and acclaimed authors such as Gil Adamson, Margaret Atwood, Ken Babstock, Peter Behrens, Rawi Hage, Misha Glenny, Jim Harrison, A. L. Kennedy, Pasha Malla, Lisa Moore, A. F. Moritz, Eric Siblin, Karen Solie, and Ronald Wright. Anansi is also proud to publish the award-winning nonfiction series The CBC Massey Lectures. In 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Anansi was honoured by the Canadian Booksellers Association as “Publisher of the Year.”
Table of Contents
Cover
Openers
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Acknowledgements
About the Author
About the Translator
About The Publisher