Sandra Aikaruwa Mushi (born 1974) is a Tanzanian writer, primarily of poetry and short stories.

Biography

Mushi was born in

Dar es Salaam Region Dar es Salaam Region () is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions and is located on the east coast of the country. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land and water areas of the nation state of Ma ...

, Tanzania, in 1974. She spent her childhood between the United Kingdom, Tanzania, and Botswana. She studied interior design in South Africa at

Cape Technikon A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

, then began a career as an interior designer. While continuing to work in design, Mushi began a career as a writer. She has published stories and poetry in various magazines and journals, including in ''JENdA: A Journal of Culture and African Women Studies'' and through the Africa Knowledge Project and the literary organization SOMA. She has also written columns on interior design for ''The Citizen'' and other Tanzanian publications. Her work was included in the anthology ''Reflections: An Anthology of New Work by African Women Poets'' in 2013. Her first book, the poetry collection ''The Rhythmn of My Rhyme'', was published by Andika Afrika in 2008. It is not clear whether the misspelling of "Rhythm" is intentional. Her second book, ''Stains on My Khanga'', is a collection of short stories and poems and was published in 2014. Mushi has been categorized as an important contributor to contemporary Tanzanian literature, particularly among women writers. Her writing has sometimes been characterized as satire, focusing on the daily lives of women. She previously described herself as "neither a feminist nor an activist," but later quoted

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to assert, "We should all be feminists." She primarily writes in English, with some

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...

in her later work. Her later work is also more serious in tone, frequently dealing with domestic violence and other struggles women face.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mushi, Sandra A. 1974 births Living people Tanzanian women writers Tanzanian poets People from Dar es Salaam