David Diop

David Mandessi Diop (9 July 1927 – 29 August 1960)[1] was a French West African poet known for his contribution to the Négritude literary movement.

[5] Diop lived his life transitioning constantly between France and South West Africa, from childhood onwards.

[2] He died in the crash of Air France Flight 343 in the Atlantic Ocean off Dakar, Senegal, at the age of 33 on 29 August 1960.

[1][6] His one small collection of poetry, Coups de pilon, came out from Présence Africaine in 1956; it was posthumously published in English as Hammer Blows, translated and edited by Simon Mondo and Frank Jones (African Writers Series, 1975).

The Prix David Diop is awarded in his honour by the Association des écrivains du Sénégal.