Mariama Bâ
Mariama Bâ | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 April 1929 Dakar, Senegal |
| Died | 17 August 1981 (aged 52) Dakar, Senegal |
| Resting place | Unknown |
| Occupation | Author |
| Language | French |
| Nationality | Senegalese |
| Citizenship | Senegal |
| Genre | novel |
| Notable works | So Long a Letter (Une si longue lettre) |
| Children | 9 |
Mariama Bâ (April 17, 1929 – August 17, 1981) was a Senegalese author and feminist, whose two French-language novels were both translated into more than a dozen languages. Born in Dakar, Senegal, she was raised a Muslim.
Her frustration with the fate of African women is expressed in her first novel, Une si longue lettre (1979; translated into English as So Long a Letter). In this semi-autobiographical epistolary work, Bâ depicts the sorrow and resignation of a woman who must share the mourning for her late husband with his second, younger wife. This short book was awarded the first Noma Award for Publishing in Africa in 1980.