The Seychelles

“I lived among lagati and cinnamon trees, but I read about oak and willow trees.  I saw mynahs, tenrecs and rhinoceros beetles, but my books were about robins, squirrels and red admiral butterflies. There were no books that said anything about the Seychellois natural environment. Then came Antoine [Abel]… reading Antoine’s work was a milestone in my intellectual development in that it validated, so to speak, my real-life experiences.  Fruit bats, octopus and sardine fishing were talked about in a book.  One could write about such things. And moreover; Seychellois, too, could write books!”

— Pat Matyot, (quoted on The Woyingi Blog)