Félix Couchoro

Félix Couchoro (30 January 1900 – 5 April 1968) was a Togolese writer and in Ouidah, Dahomey, to Dahomeyan parents. He attended primary school and secondary school respectively at the Catholic mission in Grand-Popo and the Minor Seminary of St. Joan of Arc in Ouidah from 1915 to 1919. He taught at the Catholic school in Grand Popo from 1919 to 1924. Between 1924 and 1939 Couchoro managed a branch of the Société Commerciale de l’Ouest Africain (SCOA). In 1929, Couchoro's first book, L'Esclave, was published in Paris, the second novel published by an African in French, but the book remained obscure for years. He edited the newspaper Éveil Togolais from 1931 to 1933, which was renamed Éveil Togo-Dahoméen. In the paper, he advocated for greater freedom of trade between Benin and Togo. Couchoro invented Onitsha-style chapbooks during this time. He worked on the editorial team of several newspapers that advocated for decolonization. However, he soon became the target of police repression again. After a riot in Vogan in 1952, he escaped to Aflao, Ghana, to avoid being jailed. His business failed and he was frequently low on money in Ghana.

He returned to Togo in 1958 and found a job in Lomé. When Togo became independent in 1960, Couchoro was appointed an editor at Information Service.

Works L'Esclave, 1929 Amour de féticheuse, 1941 Drama d'amour à Anecho, 1950 L'héritage cette peste, 1963 Amour de Féticheuse, 2015