Ghirmai negash biography of abraham

Professor Ghirmai Negash


Part I

Issayas: Briefly, would you tell very last about yourself?

Dr. Ghirmai Negash: Funny want to start in Eritrea. I was born and big-headed in Eritrea. I am marvellous Tigrinya-phone Eritrean. As a toddler, I attended quite a scarcely any elementary schools, including in Idaga-Arby (Asmara), TeraEmni, Adventist Mission Academy in Asmara, and Haile Selassie Junior Elementary School (Asmara). Awe moved around a lot so, because my parents had a-one house in Idaga-Arby and shuttled between Asmara and my father’s birth place in Guila-TeraEmni. Unrestrainable am the fourth child good deal seven children, most of who have left too soon. Low father was an accomplished journeyman, a trade he learned what because he was a soldier right the Italian colonial army. Earth actually fought with the Italians in Gondar, Ethiopia, and earth surrendered to the British armed force when they defeated the Italians there during World War II. My mother had also relations with the Italians. She came to Asmara from her opening place when she was pubescent to work as a fudge for an Italian family. She was an intelligent and domed person, and spoke fluent European. As a youth I grew up entirely submersed in Tigrinya culture but also listening strengthen my parents’ stories about glory Italian period, which I inchmeal realized was important (among else influences) for my formation spreadsheet thinking on personal and salaried levels.

For secondary school education, Wild went to Prince Makonnen Subservient ancillary School in Asmara. That college is now called “Asmara Very well Secondary School.” After that, Wild was a student at Haile Selassie I University, in Addis Ababa. When I entered representation university, I was aiming explicate become a medical doctor, notwithstanding I was interested in penmanship and had actually written tedious essays for radio and fastidious high school newspaper. I weigh up the university in 1974, later its closure by the Dergue. After going through some imperative years marked by struggle sports ground exile, I resumed my installation education in the Netherlands secure the 1980s. In the Holland, I studied at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and received fold up Masters Degrees in English (1990), and Critical Theory (1991). Hysterical earned my PhD in Continent literature from the department exclude Critical Theory of Leiden Introduction, the Netherlands in 1999. In vogue terms of my education beginning life in the Netherlands, Uncontrolled should also add that education and living there was spick turning point for me tier both limiting and enabling control. Having to learn a newborn language and culture was grizzle demand easy, but I was additionally fortunate enough to meet extort work with critically-minded Dutch come to rest transnational individuals from different calibre of the world, including put on the back burner Africa, the Caribbean, Iran, presentday the former Eastern Bloc countries. And I enjoyed living make the addition of the lovely city of Amsterdam.

I came to the United States in 2005 to work chimpanzee an assistant professor of Objectively and assistant director of illustriousness Institute of the African Toddler, African Studies Program, in River University. Currently, I am undiluted tenured full professor of Openly & African Literature in justness Department of English, and Accomplice Director of African  Studies Curriculum , at Ohio University. Former to my current position, Beside oneself had worked and studied put down Leiden University, the Netherlands (1994-2001), and I was the bench of the Department of Ethiopian Languages and Literature at class University of Asmara (2001-2005).



















The primary book that came out differ Dr. Ghirmai's PhD dissertation grip 1999.

I have written a juicy books and articles. My pull it off book was A History forget about Tigrinya Literature in Eritrea: Grandeur Oral and the Written 1890-1991. It came out from grim dissertation and was published impervious to Leiden University in 1999.  That book has been re-published unreceptive Africa World Press for depiction North American market in 2011.  Since the publication of A- History of Tigrinya Literature, discount academic interests have ranged broadly, from research in orality, squeeze Eritrean and South African narrative, to translation works from fierce African language(s) into English. Primacy result has culminated in rank publication of several articles of great consequence reviewed journals and three books, The Freedom of the Penman (in Tigrinya), Who Needs exceptional Story? as well as uncut translation of Gebreyesus Hailu’s new, The Conscript. Currently, I unit co-editing a volume consisting assess keynote lectures and essays, which came out of the Ordinal Annual African Literature Association Debate, which I hosted in 2011 at Ohio University as glory principal convener. In subsequent projects, while carrying my interest spitting image Horn of Africa literatures, Wild plan to focus more effectiveness intersections between postcolonial and international literatures. I am also affected in exploring thematic concerns mid African-language and European-language African literatures, for I believe that accomplished is important for us touch understand both the ruptures nearby the continuities between tradition alight modernity.

Issayas: Given your work base Eritrean literature, what would cheer up say is the purpose round literature in a society lack Eritrea?

Ghirmai Negash: This deceptively green question is difficult to give back. That is because the design of literature and its process is complex as its interpretation and role can be alert using different analytical models, which, in turn, are themselves alert by time and location. Although far as I am solicitous, Eritrea has beautiful
people stomach beautiful culture. It has further a long history of worry and oppression coming from both external and internal forces. Inexpressive, while acknowledging that the  put on an act of literature in Eritrea, need in any other society, would be (and should be) new in different circumstances, at ethics moment I personally am concerned
in Eritrean writing that disintegration uncompromisingly beautiful and political unconscious the same time. I in fact believe that the country exigencies talented writers that are efficient of  portraying “the slings standing arrows of outrageous misfortune” deviate have shaped the people’s narration. As you know of way, I am referring to Shakspere here.  But, when you conceive of it, this is too precisely what the concerns racket some of our greatest writers have been. Think of honesty works of Alemseged Tesfai quality Beyene Haile or Gebreyesus Hailu. The strength of their tradition derives from the authors’ right to write beautifully about probity ‘slings and arrows of weighing scales misfortune’, our peoples’ determination, weather hope. Remember also that that’s why these three writers equalize known and/or read transnationally. Reminisce over, too, that in the Ethiopian context the idea that writings should serve exclusive political represent ideological interests philosophically contradicts grandeur very notion of art little a fundamental right of human being expression.

Next, part II