Maaza mengiste biography of george

Cancel Report. Create a new account. Log In. Browse Biographies. Quiz Are you a biography pro? A Indira Gandhi. B Margaret Thatcher. C Hillary Clinton. Mengiste was born in Addis AbabaEthiopia, but left the country at the age of four when her family fled the Ethiopian Revolution. She spent the rest of her childhood in NigeriaKenyaand the United States.

Mengiste has published fiction and nonfiction dealing with migration, the Ethiopian revolution, and the plight of sub-Saharan immigrants arriving in Europe. Mengiste's debut novel Beneath the Lion's Gaze — the story of a family struggling to survive the tumultuous and bloody years of the Ethiopian Revolution — was named one of the 10 best contemporary African books by The Guardian and has been translated into French, Spanish, [ 4 ] Portuguese, [ 5 ] German, Italian, Dutch, and Swedish.

She counts among her influences E. Mengiste's second novel, The Shadow Kingis set during Mussolini 's invasion of Ethiopiaand shines a light on the women soldiers not usually credited in African history. History and modernity are juxtaposed in the factual asymmetries of warfare the Ethiopians must rely on outdated and often malfunctioning weapons and have no way of long-distance communication beyond running messengers.

They are also set side by side in the modes of consciousness that all the characters experience. The star of the novel, however, is Mengiste's gorgeous writing, which makes The Shadow King nearly impossible to put down. Mengiste has a real gift for language; her writing is powerful but never florid, gripping the reader and refusing to let go.

And this, combined with her excellent sense of pacing, makes the book one of the most beautiful novels of the year. It's a brave, stunning call for the world to remember all who we've lost to senseless violence. Mengiste has also been involved in human rights work. She serves on the advisory board of Warscapesan independent online magazine that highlights current conflicts across the world, and is affiliated with the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights.

Mengiste is currently a Professor of English at Wesleyan University. In JanuaryOtosirieze Obi-Young profiled her for Open Country Magazine in the maaza mengiste biography of george article of that quarter's edition of the magazine. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version.

In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikidata item. Ethiopian-American writer born Mengiste, BookExpo Early life [ edit ]. Career [ edit ]. Awards, honours, and nominations [ edit ]. Works [ edit ]. Books [ edit ]. It felt like some part of me just clicked back into place, like I had come home. My father retired in Addis Ababa, and my mother has returned.

When I get to an airport, I feel very comfortable. You see so many different stories: people reuniting, people leaving, people travelling with their families. Travel for me is a way to jolt myself awake, to learn new things, to meet new people and to understand that we share so much in common. You also returned home to research your novels. What was that experience like?

I only properly began to explore Ethiopia when travelling for research, and I was just in awe of the landscape. It was absolutely stunning. How does a writer describe something like this? What words would be enough? How would you describe the literary tradition in Ethiopia? I recently published a collection of short stories called Addis Ababa Noir, written by Ethiopian writers living in Ethiopia and abroad.

It makes me really excited that their work will be known in the wider world. The collection is part of the Akashic Books Noir series, which now features stories from over cities around the world. The premise is to gather fourteen writers who know a particular city, and ask them to write a noir story about it. These stories are riveting to read altogether.

Addis Ababa Noir reveals a different kind of city, full of ghosts of the past, and sometimes, wicked humour. Do you remember what inspired you to become a writer? Then I was accepted to NYU, which was completely unexpected, but once on the course it was the first time I felt like I could be a writer. It is an educational and artistic endeavour and a labour of love with a goal to help develop and grow the conversations surrounding this history.

The stories that I have received have been incredibly powerful and fascinating, and they span the globe: Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, Italy, Britain, Kenya, South Africa, and so on. This was not a regional conflict, this was a global war and I am realising it extended beyond East Africa. You are very passionate about your human rights work.

Maaza mengiste biography of george

Can you tell us a little about that? I write extensively about the plight of refugees and migrants, and about photojournalists who are making images of conflict areas. I find that incredibly inspiring. Mengiste's Project is a visual storytelling porject about the Ethiopian Italian war. Ethiopia's story inspired her to become an author.

At times of difficulty and conflict, there is often a flurry of great music, art and literature. Why do you think that is?