Tag Archives: Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin

Events, History

Poet-Playwright Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin

Tadias Magazine
By Dagnachew Teklu

Updated: Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Washington D.C (TADIAS) – The life and accomplishments of Ethiopian poet and playwright, Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin, was celebrated last Friday in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland. The event highlighted Fasil Yitbarek’s book entitled Soaring on Winged Verse, which is the official biography of Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin — one of Africa’s most important literary figures. The gathering, which was hosted by Taitu Cultural Center during its popular monthly poetry night YeWeru Gitm Mishit on July 26th, was attended by a large number of people from the Ethiopian community including families and friends of the late Poet Laureate who would have marked his 77th birthday this August.

The biography was printed by Tsehai Publishers in 2011 and is dedicated “to those whose creative inspirations springs from their love of Ethiopia.” In his book, Fasil chronicles the remarkable story of Mr. Tsegaye’s humble beginnings in rural Ethiopia from the town of Boda, near Ambo, to become one of the most recognized men of letters in the country as well as one of the most prolific and acclaimed writers of his generation. The poet’s distinguished resume spans luminary works of more than 45 plays and an influential collection of Amharic poetry entitled Isat Woy Abeba (Blaze or Bloom).

Poet Laureate Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin passed away in February 2006 at the age of 69 while receiving medical treatment in New York. His body was flown back to Ethiopia and buried at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa.

In a Q&A with Tadias Magazine, Fasil said Soaring on Winged Verse is based on several interviews, which he conducted in New York with the late Tsegaye some ten years ago at the poet-playwright’s request.

“We used to meet once a week for a couple of hours and I was able to record about 30 cassettes on various occasions,” Fasil said. However, Tsegaye passed away before they completed the interviews for the book, and he fondly recalled their weekly sessions as “unforgettable moments in my life.” Fasil said he was able to fill the gap through further research of both published and unpublished sources.

“I was lucky to be chosen by Tsegaye to write this book.” Fasil added.

Yodit Tsegaye, one of Tsegaye’s daughters agreed, “We really appreciate Fasil’s determination to finish the memoir,” she said. “This book tells us what we didn’t know about our father.”

Below are photos from the event.


—
You can learn more about the book and order your own copy at www.tsehipublihers.com. “Soaring on Winged Verse” is also in the process of being translated into Amharic.

Related:
Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin, Ethiopian Poet Laureate, Dies at 69 (The New York Times)
Tadias Interview: Samuel Wolde-Yohannes on his Book ‘Ethiopia: Culture of Progress’

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook

Events

Remembering a Poet Laureate: Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin’s 75th Birthday Anniversary

Tadias Magazine
Events News

Tuesday, August, 23, 2011

New York (Tadias) – A special celebration honoring the life and work of Ethiopia’s Poet Laureate, the late Tsegaye Gebremedhin, will be held in Addis Ababa and Washington DC throughout the year.

“Family and friends of the late Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin are celebrating the poet’s 75th birthday anniversary and his work,” the press release states. “Author of around 34 plays in Amharic and about 10 plays in English, along with several volumes of poetry Gabre-Medhin is widely recognized as among Ethiopia’s most prolific and acclaimed writers. As part of an ongoing effort to keep his literary legacy alive, family and friends are organizing a year-long series of events in Addis Ababa and Washington DC.”

A few years ago, in an essay entitled A Short Walk Through His Literary Park, Professor Negussay Ayele described the writer’s earliest influences: “Poet Laureate Tsegaye is of the generation—numbering a dozen or so who are extant — of Ethiopian men of letters who were born during the crucible of the Fascist invasion of Ethiopia in the 1930s. As such, his early childhood gestation period was molded by the trauma of that war of aggression against which his patriot father fought. Born in the vicinity of Ambo and the environs of the source of Awash River in Shewa region, the young Tsegaye was also influenced and shaped by the subcultures, languages and the blending of his Oromo and Amhara heritages. Indeed, as he was to relate later on, he considers himself as one who represented an Ethiopian amalgam or bridge between the two cultures. And it did not take long for this child prodigy not only to absorb Oromifa and traditional Zema and Qine in Ethiopic (Ge’ez) as well as Amharic in the traditional neighborhood church school but also to rapidly learn English in the contemporary modern school or Asquala. Indeed, the young genius, Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin, was barely a teen when in 1942 (Eth.Cal.), he wrote his first play, The Story of King Dionysus and of the Two Brothers, and saw it staged in Ambo Elementary School. It was watched by, among others, Emperor Haile Sellassie himself.”

And one of our most favorite definitions of Ethiopia comes from our own Poet Laureate. “The Ethiopia of rich history is the heart of Africa’s civilization,” he wrote. “She is the greatest example of Africa’s pride. Ethiopia means peace. The word ‘Ethiopia’ emanates from a connection of three old black Egyptian words, Et, Op and Bia, meaning truth and peace, up and upper, country and land. Et-Op-Bia is land of upper truth or land of higher peace.” No one has put it more eloquently. Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin is a revered soul who brought out the best of his homeland – her stunning peaks and valleys, her triumphs and struggles, and always reminding us to rise and grow into our best selves.
—
If You Go:
26th August,6:30 pm – Book launch
Historical Plays of Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin (in Amharic)
(Addis Ababa University Press, 2011)
Performance of excerpts by Taytu Cultural Center
Admission: Free
Unification Church, 1610 Columbia Rd. NW
Washington DC

The official biography of Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin Soaring on Winged Verse:
The Life of Ethiopian Poet-Playwright Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin By Fasil Yitbarek
(Tsehai Publishers, 2011)
December 2011 – Book launching (biography in English), Washington D.C.
August 2012 – Book launching (biography in Amharic), Addis Ababa
For more information, please contact: tsegayegm75@gmail.com.