Carl de Souza was born in Rose Hill, Mauritius, in 1949. After an itinerant primary school education, which included a stint on the Mauritian island dependency of Rodrigues, de Souza was admitted to Royal College, Port Louis, and then to the prestigious Royal College Curepipe. He read Biology at the University of London and decided to become an educator. After 25 years of teaching at the College St. Esprit, he was in 1995 named Rector of St. Mary's college in Rose Hill, the town of his birth, a position he still holds. Carl de Souza has also excelled in sports. He was a national badminton player for many years before being named manager of the national team, President of the Mauritius Badminton Federation, and Secretary-General of the African Badminton Federation. Late into his careers in pedagogy and competitive sports, de Souza decided to become a writer. His first published work, a short story entitled "La comète de Halley", won the Mauritian Prix Pierre Renaud in 1986. In 1993 another short story, "Le raccourci", was published in Paris. That same year, his first novel, "Le Sang de l'Anglais", won the international francophone prize, Prix de l'ACCT, and an accompanying publishing contract in France. Heartened by the critical reaction to his novel, de Souza embarked on another, and in 1996 his novel "La maison qui marchait vers le large" won the regional Prix des Mascareignes, and the following year the French government made de Souza Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In his novel, "Les jours de Kaya", Carl de Souza explores the hidden violence of Mauritian society with its harmonious appearance that, in reality, hides strong community tensions, ready to explode harshly into violent and unexpected riots. As we view the disorderly world of adults through the eyes of a young girl, Carl de Souza allows us an insight into the intimate life of this girl who is also discovering her own body. This initiatory novel shows us that one does not have to be a woman to be feminist. In his latest novel entitled "Ceux qu'on jette à la mer" (2001), he tackles the topic of exile through the nightmare journey of Chinese emigrants aboard a drifting ship.

"Publications:
La comète de Halley (short story), 1986
La raccourci (short story), 1993
Le Sang de l'Anglais, Hatier, 1993
La maison qui marchait vers le large, Le Serpent à Plumes, 1996
Les jours de Kaya, de l'Olivier, 2000
Ceux qu'on jette à la mer, de l'Olivier, 2001

Source : Centre for Creative Arts
http://www.ukzn.ac.za/cca/CCAarchive/TOW/TOW2003bio2.htm