Poets and writers
Saida Hagi-Dirie Herzi (Saciida Xaaji Diiriye Xirsi)
Saida Hagi-Dirie Herzi (born in Mogadishu in the 1950s) is a Somali feminist writer and one of the first Somalis to write fiction in English. Her story Against the Pleasure Principle (1990), on female genital mutilation, appeared in Index on Censorship and Daughters of Africa, and Government by Magic Spell was included in the Heinemann Book of Contemporary African Short Stories edited by Chinua Achebe.
Saida Hagi-Dirie HerziSaciida Xaaji Diiriye Xirsi
- Known as one of
- Poets and writers
- Places
- Muqdisho and Banaadir
- Era
- The Republic, 1960 to 1991; Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 1 sources
Who is she?
Saida Hagi-Dirie Herzi is a Somali feminist writer born in Mogadishu in the 1950s (Wikipedia, Saida Hagi-Dirie Herzi). She earned a degree in English literature at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, where she later taught, and a master's degree from the American University in Cairo (same source). She divides her time among several countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States and Kenya (same source).
Writing
She was one of the first Somali writers to publish fiction in English, and her stories take up women's rights, female genital mutilation and corruption (Wikipedia).
- "Against the Pleasure Principle" first appeared in 1990 in the journal Index on Censorship, over concern that its depiction of genital mutilation might otherwise be censored (same source). It draws on her own experience and was later included in Margaret Busby's anthology Daughters of Africa (1992) (same source).
- "Government by Magic Spell" appeared in The Heinemann Book of Contemporary African Short Stories (1992), edited by Chinua Achebe and C. L. Innes, and was broadcast on BBC Radio in 2012 (same source).
- "The Barren Stick" was first published in 2002 (same source).
In short
A pioneering Somali writer of English-language short stories on women's rights and politics.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Saida Hagi-Dirie Herzi · en.wikipedia.org
Saida Hagi-Dirie HerziSaciida Xaaji Diiriye Xirsi
- Known as one of
- Poets and writers
- Places
- Muqdisho and Banaadir
- Era
- The Republic, 1960 to 1991; Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 1 sources
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