Ama Ata Aidoo

Ama Ata Aidoo ( born 1942 in Ghana ) is a Ghanaian writer and politician. She enjoys worldwide recognition, her books have been translated into many languages. In German is so far the second wife appeared. Aidoo lived a long time after your time as Polikerin in Ghana as a writer in Zimbabwe and the United States, where she also taught.

Youth and Education

Aidoo was born as the daughter of a chief of the Fanti from Abeadzi Kyiakor in the Central Region of Ghana, which was at that time as a British colony the name Gold Coast.

She attended the Wesley High School in Cape Coast and subsequently Legon, University of Ghana, where she studied English literature from 1961 to 1964. At the university she was an active member of the theater group and took part in the workshop for writers. During this time she wrote her first piece with the English title The Dilemma of a Ghost in 1964. Between 1964 and 1967 Aidoo himself taught at the University of Legon.

Aidoo as a politician

Between 1982 and 1983 it was under President Jerry Rawlings education minister in the Cabinet of Ghana. She pursued during her tenure, the goal is to make freely available for all to education in Ghana, but had to realize that your ideas could not be realized so soon. After 18 months, she resigned her position.

Your work

The works of Aidoo, were influenced by the rich history of their country, in which they are incurred. Aidoo worked in her pieces again and again the situation of women in Africa. Political issues it addresses and raises religious questions.

So they processed about in her book The second wife of the conflict of a woman with a higher education debt with her husband less educated. Separates you from him and falls in love with a Muslim man who is already married to another woman. They discovered the difficulties that lie somewhere between the desire for affection, the desire for self-determination and life as a second wife.

Awards

Aidoo has won many awards for their work. So also the 1993 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book (Africa) for her novel Changes.

Works

  • The Dilemma of a Ghost ( play ), 1965, Engl.
  • Anowa ( play ), 1969, Engl.
  • No Sweetness Here ( short stories ), 1970, Engl., ISBN 155861119-3
  • Our Sister Killjoy or Reflections from a Black- Eyed Squint ( story ), 1977, Engl.
  • The second wife (novel) / Changes, 1991, Eng. , ISBN 155861065-0
  • The Girl who can and other stories, English.

Secondary literature

  • Edith Kohrs - Amissah: Aspects of Feminism and gender in the novels of three West African Women Writers. Ama Ata Aidoo, Amma Darko, Buchi Emecheta. Books on African Studies, 2001
List of Ghanaian politicians List of African writers (by country)#Ghana Integrated Authority File
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