In 1959, when Un Negre a Paris first appeared, the French still held West Africa under colonial rule. Dadie's observations and subtle parodies of Parisian manners and morals are entertaining and poignant, charming yet profound.
 

Bernard Binlin Dadie (b. 1916), a cofounder of Presence Africaine, is part of the generation of African writers who began to publish under its auspices during the 1950s. Un Nigre a Paris is among his fifteen books of poetry, drama, tales, and travel writings. Karen C. Hatch, a professor of English at California State University, Chico, has also translated Dadie's novel, Climbie, and a collection of his folktales, La Pagne Noir.