Ama Ata Aidoo, Dies Aged 81

Hello Gentle Reader,

Ama Ata Aidoo was one of the great civil minded poets of the African Continent. Ama Ata Aidoo's childhood was punctuated and shadowed by what has been described as a revitalized neocolonial attitude, where colonialism took on a accelerated and aggressive stance towards maintaining colonial institutions, governance, and the distribution of political power, which saw her grandfather killed and her father turn towards education as resistance rather then violence. Education, played a pivotal role in Ama Ata Aidoo's upbringing; through knowledge and literature, she would resolve herself to become a writer. As a writer, Ama Ata Aidoo contributed to reshaping and redefining the image of the African women, dispelling the propagated notion that all African women were wenches or poor and downtrodden, instead she injected a lively realistic depiction of the complexities of their existence, and refused to write like some colonial English girl, and crafted narratives that were unapologetically African as palpably possible. With her first play "The Dilemma of a Ghost," a domestic satire. When "The Dilemma of a Ghost," was published, Ama Ata Aidoo became the first published African woman dramatist. The career of Ama Ata Aidoo is one of firsts and blazing a path forward that has inspired many young African writers. This often means her work includes causing controversy, as seen in her first novel "Our Sister Killjoy," which unapologetically destroyed the illusion of Europe as being earthly second to heaven. The novel recounts both the naivete and disappointment the protagonist Sissie encounters in the west, when all the lofty ideals and reputation of west are stripped away. Beyond writing, Ama Ata Aidoo was an accomplished academic, being a distinguished visiting professor of English and African studies at a variety of American universities. For a brief stint Aidoo was the education minister in Ghana under the Provisional National Defense Council government, she would resign 18 months later when it became apparent that the goal to make education free and accessible in Ghana was not going to be implemented. She would continue this civil minded and education-oriented career, however, when she lived in Zimbabwe, consulting and developing a curriculum for the Zimbabwean Ministry of Education. In many ways postcolonial Africa rose and came out into itself with the guiding support of writers and intellectuals like Ama Ata Aidoo, who have worked to affirm a sense of self, as the navigate a path forward, out of colonialism and becoming members on the international stage.

Rest in Peace, Ama Ata Aidoo.

Thank you For Reading Gentle Reader
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And As Always
Stay Well Read

M. Mary