Abe Gubegna
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Abe Gubegna (
Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...
: አቤ ጉበኛ; 1 July 1933 – 10 February 1980) was an Ethiopian novelist, playwright and poet. He published eight novels, five plays, three collections of poetry, and translated several biographies of world leaders as well as other works. Abe mainly wrote in Amharic, but two of his books were written in English.


Early life and education

Abe Gubegna was born in Korench Abo, Achefer ''woreda'', near
Bahir Dar Bahir Dar () is the capital city of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Bahir Dar is one of the leading tourist destinations in Ethiopia, with a variety of attractions in the nearby Lake Tana and Blue Nile river. The city is known for its wide avenues li ...
. His mother was Yigardu Balay, and his father, Gubegna Ambaye, was a farmer. He was one of 11 children in the family. He went to church schools for 12 years, first in his village and then in
Gojjam Gojjam ( ''gōjjām'', originally ጐዛም ''gʷazzam'', later ጐዣም ''gʷažžām'', ጎዣም ''gōžžām'') is a historical provincial kingdom in northwestern Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Markos. During the 18th century, G ...
and
Begemder Begemder (; also known as Gondar or Gonder) was a province in northwest Ethiopia. The alternative names come from its capital during the 20th century, Gondar. Etymology A plausible source for the name ''Bega'' is that the word means "dry" in t ...
. There he learnt Ge'ez and a style of poetry called ''qene''. Abe then briefly served as an administrator in the church school in his own village, taking the title ''merigeta''. He then attended a government school in
Dangila Dangila (Amharic: ዳንግላ) is a town in northwestern Ethiopia. Located in the Agew Awi Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2137 meters above sea level. It is the largest of three towns in ...
before moving to
Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...
. It is unclear whether he completed his secondary education, but in 1958 or 1959 he began work as a journalist at the Ministry of Information before moving to the Ministry of Health.


Career and major works

Abe resigned from government service to try and make a living from writing. This was rare among Amharic writers, and most others maintained other jobs. Between 1956 and 1977 he published over 20 books and numerous newspaper articles. Many of his books sold well and Abe became well known, if controversial. Fellow author Mengistu Lemma regarded him as ‘a hard working writer who has the distinction of having authored the first best sellers in the history of modern Amharic literature’ but his earnings remained low, and he was often in debt. Eventually, he returned to Bahir Dar and started a wholesale textile business, but debts to his printers remained at the time of his death.


የሮም አወዳደቅ he Fall of Rome(1960)

የሮም አወዳደቅ (''The Fall of Rome'') is Abe's first play, although it was never staged. It portrays how the nobility's extravagance and self-indulgence brings about the
fall of Rome The fall of the Western Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast ...
through their exploitation of the poor. The play was published two months before the attempted 1960 coup and was clearly written to mirror the Ethiopia that Abe saw under
Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Rege ...
.


የፓትሪስ ሉሙምባ አሳዛኝ አሟሟት he Tragic Death Patrice Lumumba(1961)

የፓትሪስ ሉሙምባ አሳዛኝ አሟሟት (''The Tragic Death of
Patrice Lumumba Patrice Émery Lumumba ( ; born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa; 2 July 192517 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic o ...
'') was Abe's next play. In his preface Abe notes that the publication of several his books was being delayed, which most likely refers to the government censorship, but that he had no patience to wait any longer for this one. The play condemns the plot against Lumumba in the
Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
. Abe portrays Lumumba as a freedom fighter and as a martyr to his people, while blaming the racism of Western governments and the complicity of
Joseph Kasa-Vubu Joseph Kasa-Vubu, alternatively Joseph Kasavubu, ( – 24 March 1969) was a Congolese politician who served as the first President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the Republic of the Congo until 1964) from 1960 until 1965. A member of ...
and
Moïse Tshombe Moïse Kapenda Tshombe (sometimes written Tshombé; 10 November 1919 – 29 June 1969) was a List of people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese businessman and politician. He served as the president of the secessionist State of ...
for his assassination. The play ends by calling for the execution of Kasa-Vubu and Tshombe. It appeared at a time when Ethiopia was attempting to mediate rifts that the Congolese crisis had created at the Third All African Peoples’ Conference in Cairo and was therefore censored heavily.


አልወለድም Will Not Be Born(1962)

In 1962 Abe published አልወለድም (''I Will Not Be Born''). The novel was banned and burnt after 800 copies were sold. The story is set in the fictional kingdom of Izraelos. The use of a fictional setting, which Abe returns to in many of his works, appears to have been an unsuccessful attempt to avoid government censorship. The unnamed central character, still in his mother's womb, tells her he will not be born into a world without freedom. Despite his efforts, she delivers her baby in hospital, only for him to criticise the doctors for bringing him into a world of suffering. As an adult he finds employment and incites the workers to strike before being fired by his employers. He goes on to establish an agricultural utopia with his friends, which is destroyed when a government official lays claim to their land. As this occurs the government is overthrown in a military coup. The new government adopts a more progressive approach, before quickly becoming more oppressive than the previous regime. He then becomes involved in a revolution that overthrows the military. He declines a role in the new government and returns to his utopia. But he is soon accused of sedition, arrested and sentenced to death. Before his execution is carried out he declares that he wants to be buried in the open and not in church grounds alongside liars and cheats. Poet and critic Debebe Seifu considered the novel both politically naïve and lacking in literary style, with its obvious allusions to mid-twentieth century Ethiopia providing its value.


The Savage Girl (1964)

The Savage Girl is Abe's first and only play in English. It is an allegory of Ethiopian history that takes place over three acts and is partly in verse. It has never been staged. The Savage Girl was poorly received, with critics citing that too little thought was given to dramatic production and the use of verse was badly constructed. Debebe identified similar flaws in Abe's use of language and production.


አንድ ለናቱ is Mother's Only Child(1968)

In 1968 Abe published አንድ ለናቱ (''His Mother's Only Child'') a 688-page novel based on the life of Emperor Tewodros II. Abe's interest in Tewodros was far from unique, with novels about the Emperor also written by
Makonnen Endelkachew '' Ras Betwoded'' Mekonnen Endelkachew (Amharic: መኮንን እንዳልካቸው; 16 February 1890 – 27 February 1963) was an Ethiopian aristocrat and Prime Minister under Emperor Haile Selassie. Mekonnen was born in Addisge, the nephe ...
, Berhanu Zerihun and Sahle Sellassie Berhane Mariam. The novel traces Tewodros’ life from birth until death, with most attention given to the years leading to his coronation.  Abe's idealised view of Tewodros is made plain in his introduction, stating: ''“When all other aspects of Tewodros have been found to be controversial only his bravery has been undisputed"''. But as with much of his work, this position was also made in opposition to Haile Selassie, who fled the country during a time of crisis, while Tewodros died at the
Battle of Magdala The Battle of Magdala was the conclusion of the British Expedition to Abyssinia fought in April 1868 between British and Abyssinian forces at Magdala, from the Red Sea coast. The British were led by Robert Napier, while the Abyssinians were ...
. Debebe regarded it as a phenomenal work, albeit one that at times reads like a history textbook.


International Writing Program at the University of Iowa (1973)

In 1973 Abe attended the
International Writing Program The International Writing Program (IWP) is a writing residency for international artists in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Since 2014, the program offers online courses to many writers and poets around the world. Since its inception in 1967, the I ...
at the University of Iowa. He was the third Ethiopian author to attend the program after Daniachew Worku and Solomon Deressa.
Peter Nazareth Peter Nazareth (born 27 April 1940) is a British literary critic and writer of fiction and drama. Life Peter Nazareth was born in Uganda. He is of Goan descent, and his mother's family was earlier based in Malaya-Malaysia-Singapore. He was edu ...
, who participated in the program in the same year, recalled how Abe was hostile towards Americans because he saw their government as supporting the rule of Haile Selassie. Nazareth also recalled how Abe was confrontational towards other writers, including arguments with
Kole Omotoso Bankole Ajibabi Omotoso (21 April 1943 – 19 July 2023), also known as Kole Omotoso, was a Nigerian writer and intellectual best known for his works of fiction and in South Africa as the "Yebo Gogo man" in adverts for the telecommunications co ...
and
Ashokamitran Ashokamitran (22 September 1931 – 23 March 2017) was the pen name of Jagadisa Thyagarajan, an Indian writer regarded as one of the most influential figures in post-independent Tamil literature. He began his prolific literary career with the p ...
, and that he tried to strangle a female Japanese author. Ultimately, Nazareth believed that writers on the program began to fear Abe.


Defiance (1975)

''Defiance'' portrays the Italian occupation and is Abe's only novel in English. The manuscript was considered for Oxford University Press’
Three Crowns Three Crowns () is the national emblem of Sweden, present in the coat of arms of Sweden, and composed of three yellow or Gilding, gilded coronets ordered two above and one below, placed on a blue background. Similar designs are found on a numbe ...
series but was eventually only published for the local market. The novel tells the story of an old ''
Fitawrari Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( , modern transcription , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary royal nobility, formed the upper ...
'' and his family during the years of the Italian occupation.


ፓለቲካና ፓለቲከኞች olitics and Politicians(1976)

ፓለቲካና ፓለቲከኞች (''Politics and Politicians'') is a play published in 1976 or 1977 after it was performed at the
Hager Fikir Theatre The Hager Fikir Theatre () is a theatre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. One of the oldest and foremost theatre in Ethiopian history, it served as a multipurpose venue for artistic performances over half decades. History Previously a nightclub, the ...
the previous year. It is a satire depicting what the author saw as the opportunistic behaviour of leftist politicians. Farada, the protagonist, ridicules the educated elite for their claims that they were the source of the revolution in the country. He decries the jargon that has emerged and appears to indirectly criticise the
Derg The Derg or Dergue (, ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when they formally "Civil government, civilianized" the ...
. The dissatisfaction with both the previous and new government is clear.


Themes and critical responses

Many of Abe's books and newspaper articles were openly critical of the governments of Emperor Haile Selassie and later the
political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...
of the Derg. He often dealt with themes of social, economic, political and religious oppression and exploitation. This led to repeated government censorship and an attempt to divert him away from writing with the offer of a high-ranking position as a provisional administrator. Some of his books were banned and copies burnt. He was imprisoned for three years following the publication of አልወለድም 'I Will Not Be Born''and was later sent into exile to
Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manito ...
in Illubabor. In total he spent five and a half years in prison and detention. It was Abe's political position and confrontations with the government that provided much of his fame, with some critics suggesting this has led to his work being overrated. Abe himself believed that: "''Since the important matter is what is told and not how it is told, the style of writing should always be regarded as secondary to the theme.''"


Later life and death

Abe was in America when the
Ethiopian Revolution The Ethiopian Revolution () was a period of civil, police and military upheaval in Ethiopia to protest against the weakened Haile Selassie government. It is generally thought to have begun on 12 January 1974 when Ethiopian soldiers began a rebel ...
began in 1974, an event that he was an proponent of. After returning to Ethiopia he became disillusioned and spoke out openly against the
Derg The Derg or Dergue (, ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when they formally "Civil government, civilianized" the ...
regime. He began to suffer from
alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
during his final years and lost much of his inspiration for writing. The reasons for his death in 1980 remain unclear. Some sources refer to a pub brawl and others refer to him dying in a hotel room in mysterious circumstances. He left behind two daughters and a son.


Publications

* ''Defiance'', Oxford University Press (1975) * ''The Savage Girl'', Berhanena Selam (1964)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gubegna, Abe 1934 births 1980 deaths Ethiopian journalists Ethiopian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Ethiopian novelists 20th-century journalists