An evening launch for the new Creole-language book Enn devwar memwar by Kersley Chowrimootoo, published by Éditions Project’îles.
On Thursday, August 6, 2026, the Institut Français de Maurice and Éditions Project’îles co-hosted a launch evening for Enn devwar memwar, the new work by Mauritian poet, slam artist, and teacher Kersley Chowrimootoo.
Awarded the Jury’s Encouragement Prize in the “Creole language” category at the 4th edition of the Prix International de l’Invention Poétique, held as part of the Festival Mai Poésie in Martinique, Enn devwar memwar is part of a literary approach that celebrates the expressive richness of Mauritian Creole and explores themes of memory, transmission, and resilience.
A committed voice for the Creole language
A primary school teacher of Mauritian Creole, poet, slam artist, and cultural advocate, Kersley Chowrimootoo has spent several years working to promote the Creole language. A former president of the Union of Kreol Language Primary Educators, he is currently pursuing a degree in modern literature at the Open University of Mauritius, where his research focuses on the poetics of decolonization in Aimé Césaire’s Cahier d’un retour au pays natal .
In Enn devwar memwar, the author gives voice to a woman whose story brings forth both an intimate and a collective memory. As Jocelyne Béroard, a member of the jury for the Prix International de l’Invention Poétique, writes in her preface to the book:
“In Enn devwar memwar, it is a woman who speaks. As is often the case among us, women raise their children alone. The text bears witness to the strength and resistance woven into every word, and to those fragments of joy born from children’s smiles , the sunlight of existence.”
A gathering around Mauritian literary creation
The evening offered a chance to discover the author’s world, engage with his work, and highlight the vitality of Creole literary creation in Mauritius. Copies of the book were available for purchase on-site through Éditions Project’îles, and the event closed with a book-signing session.
