Ethiopian Literature in English
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Date
1980-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Looked at from the point of view of the hoary Geez and Amharic
literature's, creative writing in English is a baby tradition in Ethiopia.
However, this baby tradition has, so far, attracted some venerable writers
in Amharic like Tsegaye Gebre Medhin and Dan iachew worku and as such it
must needs be subjected to some critical app raisal. This, thus, is the
main aim and purpose of this dissertation.
Before I come to examine in tobQ creative writings in English, I have
attempted to make some descriptive assessment s of some of the Amharic
works of some of the writers by way of giving a preliminary insight and a
background information. Out of the seven writers I have dealt with in
this dissertation, I have delineated in chapte r one, though understan dabily
cursorily, the Amha ric works of four writers as these are the ones
who can be said to have produced some creative works in the vernacular.
In chapter two I have given primarily thematic treatments to seven
novels. Among these, The Thirteenth Sun, as a matured and intricate work,
has taken much more spaoe t han the others. sahle Selass ie's three novels,
arranged and tteated chronologically attempt to show his progress in
a rtistio deftness and thematic manipulation . The rest have one novel
each and their shortcomings notwithstanding , their attempt to use a foreign
language in tackling noteworthy issues is brought out to the attention of
the reader.
In chapter three I have dealt with the poetic works of TsegayeGebre
Medhin and EyasuGorfu. Here, I have found out Tsegaye to be a conscientious
poet with a strong committment for the cause of the black people and
the resuscitation of their cultures. Conversely, Eyasu tackless issues ---
that have only a marginal relevance even to his home land.Among the five Engli sh plays we have in chapter four , four of t hem
are authored by Tsega y e Gebre Medhin. Two of these are written in prose,
whereas the rama ining two a re couched in beaut iful v e rse. The fifth play
is Abbie Gubegna ' s a nd it is on e of the shoddiest works to appear in
Engl ish.
Finally, in a brief conclusion, I have tried to give an overall
picture of the present state o f creative "ratting in English . As long as
stringent censorship is prevalent in the country and as long a s
Ethiopians have some thing to say artistically to t he outside world,
Ethiopian literature in English will continue to com e forth, even if in
lulls and a t intervals.
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Keywords
hoary Geez, Amharic