Eritrean Portfolio  

                                              edited by Charles Cantalupo

 

                                                                            All translations by
                                                                            Charles Cantalupo & Ghirmai Negash

Poems taken from:
Who Needs a Story?
Contemporary Eritrean Poetry in Tigrinya, Tigre and Arabic

(Hdri Publishers, Asmara, Eritrea 2006). 9994800086 | Second printing: Lightning Source. 9 789994 800087

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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About the Poets, Poems & Translators

Angessom Isaak (1963): Poet and short story writer. Public relations and coordinating officer at the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the PFDJ, he has published three books: Sewerti Biet Mahbus (1987), Belay Shida (1992) and Zinededet Kara (with Michael Berhe and Ghirmai Yohannes) (2000)). The Tigrinya original of "Freedom's Colors" first appeared in 1996 and is from an unpublished book of poetry.

Ribka Sibhatu (1956): Poet, critic and scholar. Intercultural consultant in Italy with a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Rome, she writes poetry in Tigrinya and in Italian. The Tigrinya original of “Abeba" is from her bilingual book, Aulò: Canto-poesia dall'Eritrea (1993).

Saba Kidane (1978): Poet, performer and journalist. Presenter and coordinator of broadcasts on Eritrean television and radio, she also writes for newspapers. The Tigrinya originals of “Your Father” (1999) is from an unpublished book of poetry.

Ghirmai Yohannes (San Diego) (1961): Actor, poet and writer. His work includes television shows, children's programs, videos, advertising, stand-up comedy and theatre. “Like a Sheep” first appeared in Tigrinya in 1997.

Mussa Mohammed Adem (1963): Poet, short story writer and journalist. He has worked in Tigre radio broadcasting since 1992.

Abdul Hakim Mahmoud El-Sheikh (1966 – 1998): Poet and journalist. Mohammed Madani's younger brother, he won Eritrea's Raimok prize for Arabic poetry in 1997. At the height of his career, he died in a fire in 1998. The original poem in Arabic was first published in 1994.

Ahmed Omer Sheikh (1966): Poet, novelist and journalist. With a degree in Economics and Public Administration from King Abdulazis University, Saudi Arabia, he has worked in the Arabic section of Eritrean radio and television since 1992. Author of three novels – Nurai (1997), Alashria (1999) and Ahzan Almatar (2001) – and three books of poetry – Heen lem Yaad Algareeb (1993), Tefaseel Emrah leKhadima mien Alsudan (1994) and Rakset Alteyour (2003) – he has won many national and international prizes, including the Raimok award for Arabic literature in 1995 and 1997. “A Song from the Coast” appeared in Arabic in his first poetry book, Heen lem Yaad Algareeb, published in 1989.

Mohammed Mahmoud El-Sheikh (Madani) (1955): Poet and journalist. Well-known in Sudan and the Middle East, he lives in Saudi Arabia. “Singing for the Children of Ar ” in Arabic is from Teramin As Sawyriya (1984).

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Lawrence Sykes is a retired Professor of Art. He designs book jackets and illustrates for outstanding poets and writers, including Frank Chipasula, Michael Harper, Ngugi wa Thiongo and Charles Cantalupo. Sykes continues to create his art and to exhibit. In 2006, his work was the subject of a retrospective show at Gallery Z in Providence, Rhode Island. In 2001, he had a one-man retrospective at the Newport Art Museum.

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Charles Cantalupo is a translator of three books of Eritrean poetry: We Have Our Voice (Red Sea Press, 2000), We Invented the Wheel (Red Sea Press, 2003) and, most recently, with Ghirmai Negash, Who Needs a Story? Contemporary Eritrean Poetry in Tigrinya, Tigre and Arabic (Hdri Publishers, 2006). He has written and directed the documentary, Against All Odds: African Languages and Literatures into the 21st Century (2005) and is a co-author of the “Asmara Declaration on African Languages and Literatures.” Cantalupo is also the author of two books of poems, Light the Lights (Red Sea Press, 2004) and Anima/l Wo/man and Other Spirits (Spectacular Diseases, 1996) and books on Ngugi wa Thiong'o and Thomas Hobbes. Professor of English, Comparative Literature and African Studies at Penn State, Cantalupo is completing a memoir, Joining Africa, based on his literary experiences there since 1985, and editing a new collection of contemporary Eritrean short stories.

Ghirmai Negash formerly worked at Leiden University and the University of Asmara, where he was the founder and chair of the Department of Eritrean Languages and Literature (2001-2005). He is the author of A History of Tigrinya Literature in Eritrea (Leiden, 1999), The Freedom of the Writer & Other Selected Literary and Cultural Essays [in Tigrinya] (Red Sea Press, 2006) and, with Charles Cantalupo, Who Needs a Story? (Hdri Publishers, 2006). Negash is currently Assistant Professor of English and African Literature at Ohio University.

 

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Original languages and scripts available upon request

Contact:

Charles Cantalupo
Professor of English, Comparative Literature and African Studies
Penn State University
200 University Drive
Schuylkill Haven, PA 17972
cxc8@psu.edu
1-570-385-6055 / 1-570-385-6135 (fax) / 610-451-8230