Ama Ata Aidoo
Ama Ata Aidoo is a prominent Ghanaian author, educator, and former government minister, born on March 23, 1942, in Abeadzi Kyiakor, Ghana. Raised in a royal family, she received a comprehensive education, earning her B.A. in English from the University of Ghana in 1964 and furthering her studies at Stanford University. Aidoo's literary career began with influential plays and short stories that explore the complexities of gender roles, social issues, and the legacies of colonialism in Africa. Notable works include "The Dilemma of a Ghost" and "No Sweetness Here," which highlight the struggles women face in traditional societies. Her novel "Our Sister Killjoy" combines various literary forms to address the challenges of African students abroad. Aidoo's contributions have earned her numerous awards, including the Commonwealth Writers Prize. Additionally, she founded the Mbaasem Foundation in 2000 to support African women writers and has served as an educator at prestigious institutions worldwide. Aidoo's work continues to resonate, fostering awareness of African women's experiences and perspectives.
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Ama Ata Aidoo
Writer
- Born: March 23, 1942
- Birthplace: Abeadzi Kyiakor, Gold Coast (now Ghana)
- Died: May 31, 2023
- Place of death: Ghana
Biography
Christina Ama Ata Aidoo was born in Abeadzi Kyiakor (formerly the Gold Coast), Ghana, on March 23, 1942, to Nana Yaw Fama and Maame Abba Abasema. Her father was a progressive chief of Abeadzi Kyiakor. As such, Aidoo grew up as royalty and received an extensive education. After graduating from Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast, Aidoo studied drama and literature at the University of Ghana at Legon, earning her B.A. in English in 1964. Aidoo’s education continued at Stanford University in California. Upon graduation, she worked as an English lecturer at University of Cape Coast, Ghana, from 1970 through 1982. During this time, Aidoo also became a consulting professor at the Phelps Stokes Foundation’s ethnic studies program in Washington, D.C., from 1974 through 1975. Next, she served as Ghana’s minister of education from 1982 to 1983.
Ama Ata Aidoo’s writings verge on autobiographical, tackling issues of gender roles, social strife, and the devastations of colonialism on Africa. Aidoo handles these subjects with hope and humor, through strengthening and personalizing the stories’ characters. Aidoo’s writing career began with the publication of two plays, The Dilemma of a Ghost (1965) and Anowa (1970), and a collection of short stories, No Sweetness Here (1970). The trio introduced readers to the internal and external struggles women in traditional societies confront daily. The first is the story of a Ghanaian man returning from studies in America with his African American wife. Experiencing the devastation of colonialism firsthand, the Western wife adjusts to a new way of life while being met with hostility from neighbors in the village. Anowa is a modern rendition of a native folktale in which a young girl insists on selecting her husband herself, ending in tragedy for all. Aidoo’s No Sweetness Here explores feminist issues of sexism and degradation while celebrating the spirit and intellect of women. Aidoo’s novel Our Sister Killjoy, published in 1977 after taking a hiatus from writing to teach English at the University of Ghana, mixes poetry, prose, and fiction while following young independent Sissie through Europe as she tries to convince African students to return to their homelands and refuse to become a part of devastating white capitalism. Someone Talking to Sometime (1985), her first poetry collection, offers the reader topics ranging from politics to love stories. Her later works, such as Changes: A Love Story (1991), continue to explore and celebrate the roles of modern women in traditional societies through a matured tone, recognizing that women may chose to abandon assumed gender roles, but they still crave love and acceptance from their communities. Critics have praised the orality and lyricism of Aidoo's style, on display once more in her later short-story collection Diplomatic Pounds & Other Stories (2012). She has also ventured into children's literature with the books The Eagle and the Chickens and Other Stories (1986) and Birds and Other Poems (1987).
Aidoo received a short story award from the Mbari Press; a prize from Black Orpheus for No Sweetness Here; was awarded a research fellowship from Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana; received a Fulbright Scholarship in 1988; and earned the Commonwealth Writers Prize for African authors for Changes: A Love Story in 1992. The volume Someone Talking to Sometime also garnered her the 1987 Nelson Mandela Award for poetry. She and her extensive literary career were the subject of a 2014 documentary, The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo.
Her greatest achievement is raising awareness of the plight of African women, by bringing their stories to print and stage. In 2000, Aidoo established the nonprofit Mbaasem Foundation, which is committed to foster the artistic work of African women writers. She remains the executive director of its board of directors.
Aidoo has lived abroad in several countries, including Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. In addition to the University of Ghana, Legon, she has taught at Brown University and Brandeis University.
Bibliography
"Ama Ata Aidoo." BBC World Service. BBC, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
"Ama Ata Aidoo at 70." NewAfrican. IC Publications, 1 Mar. 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
"Ama Ata Aidoo Profile." GhanaWeb. GhanaWeb BV, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo. Dir. Yaba Badoe. Fadoa Films, 2014. DVD.
Azodo, Ada Uzoamaka, and Gay Wilentz, eds. Emerging Perspectives on Ama Ata Aidoo. Trenton: Africa World P, 1999. Print.
Emenyonu, Ernest N., ed. Writing Africa in the Short Story. Rochester: Boydell, 2013. Print.