The Blind Kingdom is a collection of short stories and poetic texts woven together to illustrate an African society on the brink of collapse. Writing in 1960 at a time when Côte d’Ivoire was in chaos after declaring its independence from France, Véronique Tadjo explores themes of love, independence, and renewal as she creates a new world of hope and creativity. Her illuminating political allegory will resonate with contemporary readers as they draw parallels between Côte d’Ivoire's crisis of forty years ago and the turmoil facing the country today.

This edition also includes an informative interview with the author by translator, Janis Mayes, as well as a second interview with Tadjo providing rich historical detail, by Germain A. Kadi. 

Véronique Tadjo, a widely acclaimed African Francophone writer, currently is head of French Studies at the School of Literature and Language Studies at the University of Witswatersrand in South Africa. Her novel Reine Pokou (Queen Pokou) was awarded the Grand Prix Littéraire d’Afrique Noire in 2005.