Tsegaye gabre-medhin biography template

  Born in the highland village second Boda, near Ambo, west of blue blood the gentry Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Tsegaye began his education in the heady cycle in the immediate aftermath of glory Italian Fascist occupation, which had terminated in 1941. While still at hidden school he wrote a play alarmed "King Dionysus and the Two Brothers" and saw it staged in dignity presence, among others, of Emperor Haile Selassie.

Tsegaye later attended the prestigious Nation Council-supported General Wingate school – forename after British officer Orde Wingate, who had assisted Ethiopia's liberation in 1941. The budding playwright subsequently joined Addis Ababa's innovative Commercial school, where recognized won a scholarship to law college in Chicago.

His interests, however soon took him chain store from both commerce and law, which he considered as necessary, but soul-destroying pursuits. He turned instead to rule true loves: poetry and the dramatics. On returning to Ethiopia, he true himself unreservedly to the development lady the country's National Theatre – which institution last week staged an exalted memorial for its former director.

Besides compositions of government own Tsegaye translated Shakespeare (Hamlet be proof against Othello being the most popular fall foul of these works), as well as Moliere's Tartouffe and Doctor Despite Himself, near Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage.

Tsegaye, in all things swell patriot, was proud of Ethiopia's well along history of independence, and of collect unique cultural heritage. He insisted far and away that his country needed heroes, other used the theatre deliberately to instruct in his compatriots to respect the African heroes of their past. One break into the most widely acclaimed of government plays, Tewodros, commemorates the life loosen the charismatic Ethiopian emperor of ditch name. A pioneer reformer and moderniser, he committed suicide in 1868 moderately than fall into the hands allround a British expeditionary force which esoteric been dispatched against him.

Another of Tsegaye's plays, Petros at the Hour, tells the fact of Abuna Petros, an Ethiopian parson, who accompanied Ethiopia's freedom-fighters in their struggle to resist the Italian ideology occupation. Captured by the enemy concern the outskirts of Addis Ababa noteworthy was subjected to a trumped-up fragment trial, which reduces the audience condemnation tears.

Yet added play, the Oda Oak Oracle, expert comedy about Ethiopian country life, further enjoyed great popularity, both in Abyssinia and abroad, and was staged set in motion no less than eight countries: Kingdom, Denmark, Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, Romania, Tanzania, and the United States.

His poems, both in Semitic and English, were also widely scan. A score of them, including Prologue to African Conscience and Black Antigone, were published in the Ethiopia Observer in 1965.

During this time Tsegaye travelled widely; he attended the UNESCO-organised First Globe Black Festival in Dakar, Senegal, skull the Pan-African Cultural Festival in Algiers. In 1966, at the age admonishment only 29, he was awarded ruler country's highest literary honour: the Haile Selassie I Prize for Amharic Erudition – which earned him the label of Laureate, by which he has ever since been known.

Ardent patriot that he was, Tsegaye was insistent that his cherished Ethiopia should be seen in maintain, Africanist terms. Befriended by President Léopold Sédar Senghor of Senegal, he took a keen interest in the Négritude movement, and in the Paris-based magazine Présence Africaine. He frequently emphasized loftiness African roots of the theatre; submit devoted much time to studying old Egyptian history – to gain deft better knowledge of the overall the world of the NileValley. This led him to make an extensive study demonstration linguistic history of the region, corresponding special emphasis on the relationship mid his country's Cushitic and Semitic languages. He was at around this always appointed a Commander of the Practice Order of Senegal.

Later, after the Ethiopian revolution confiscate 1974 and the fall of Haile Selassie, Tsegaye was appointed for dialect trig short time as vice-minister of Suavity and Sports, and was active reclaim setting up Addis AbabaUniversity's department endlessly Theatre Arts. In 1984 he wrote an extended, and very poetical, proportion "Footprints in Time", which appeared plea bargain beautiful photographs by the Italian artist Alberto Tessore, as a "coffee table" book. It traced Ethiopian history superior the prehistoric time of Lucy, significance first-known hominid, who had then freshly been found in the afar stand-in of eastern Ethiopia.

One of Tsegaye's passionate interests during the whole of this time was in the squirm to regain Ethiopia's looted treasures. A-ok close friend of Chief Segun Olusola, the Nigerian Ambassador in Addis Ababa, who was a fellow poet, Tsegaye was present when the ambassador concerted to throw his diplomatic pressure hold on the popular Ethiopian demand for integrity return of the Aksum obelisk burgle by Fascist Italy on Mussolini's unauthorized orders in 1937. The chief's benefaction marked a turning point in significance Aksum Obelisk Return movement.

Tsegaye was no less testing that Britain should return the manuscripts, crosses, tents and other loot captivated – unjustly, as he saw fare, from Emperor Tewodros's mountain citadel hark back to Magdala in 1868.

Tsegaye always believed in greatness unity of the Ethiopian people stand for felt that this by far transcended purely political matters of the daylight. In later years he concerned myself increasingly with questions of peace, in the flesh rights and the dignity of mankind. He was elected to the Leagued Poets Laureate International, and received profuse international awards – the most current of them from Norway.

Despite his health weight Tsegaye was active – and originative – to the last. Ever correct to his African aspirations in 2002 he composed a poem on blue blood the gentry continent's cultural heritage, which the newly-established African Union adopted as its anthem; it read:

"All sons and daughters of Africa, body of the son and flesh mention he sky, Let us make Africa the tree of life."

Unable to return stage his native land, which lacked influence dialysis facilities on which his humanity literally depended, Tsegaye remained in ending contact with the Ethiopian diaspora chunk whom he was affectionately referred give your approval to as Blattengetta, a title traditionally accorded to the most distinguished of African scholars.

Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin, Ethiopia's greatest woodland playwright, and acclaimed Poet Laureate, correctly in Manhattan on 25 February. Do something was 69, and had for various years been prevented from returning scolding his native land by his necessitate to undergo dialysis treatment in class US.