Francis Bebey

With the sudden heart attack of songwriter, poet, and novelist, Francis Bebey, on May 28, 2001, Cameroon lost one of its most creative artists. The recipient of the prestigious Grand Prix Litteraire De L'Afrique Moudio for his first novel, The Son of Agatha Moudio, in 1968, Bebey went on to scribe several additional novels and scores of poems and songs. Active until shortly before his death, Bebey released two albums of his songs -- Dibiye and Mbira Dance -- to celebrate his 70th birthday. His compositions were covered by John Williams and the Kronos Quartet. According to Stel...