User:HewanHuletShi/sandbox
Adam Reta | |
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| Born | 1958 (age 65–66) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
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Adam Reta
[edit]This article is about a person whose name includes a patronymic. The article properly refers to the person by her given name, Adam, and not as Reta.
Adam Reta (Amharic: አዳም ረታ; born 1958) is an Ethiopian writer. He has authored more than ten books in Amharic and is best known for introducing the post-modernist writing form into Ethiopian literature and creating his own new brand of writing style called Hisinawinet . His most notable works are Mahlet, Giracha Kachiloch (Grey bells), Merek, and Yesinibit Kelemat (Colors of Adios). Two of his short stories have had film adaptations that garnered public accolades. Adam has been awarded numerous literary awards including Nibab LeHiwot Award and HoHe Awards. Adam is critically acclaimed for his mastery of the Amharic language, experimentation with form, attention to detail and vividness of descriptions, his existentialism, [1] and use of innovative elements in his fictions including endnotes, footnotes, diagrams, tables and colored texts.[2][3] Most of his writings have themes on loneliness, alienation, dehumanization and disintegration of personality.
Early Life
[edit]Adam Reta (formerly Adamu Reta) was born in July 8, 1958 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He attended his elementary education at Balcha Aba Nefso elementary school and his secondary education in what is now Addis Ketema Senior Secondary School.[4] He earned his bachelor’s degree from Addis Ababa University in Geography after which he worked in the sector for 8 years. Adam then commenced school to earn a post graduate diploma in Geographic Information System (GIS) and natural resource analysis from the Institute of Earth Sciences in the Netherlands.[5]
Writing Career
[edit]Adam recalls developing an interest in fiction and writing from a very early age dating back to 5th grade. In an interview with Addis Neger in 2009, he narrates the accounts of his first fiction writing experience as a form of rebellious response to a repetitive summarizing assignment that he was given in class. According to his account, after reading Adam’s piece of writing, his teacher announced to the class that Adam was going to be an author.[6]
Adam was first introduced to the public through four short stories (‘The fight’, ‘Shibeshi’, ‘Siroco’ and ‘Sphinx’) that appeared in a collaborative short story collection titled “Aba Defar and other short stories”. This book was published in 1985 through Kuraz publishing company. Adam’s first solo published book was a short story collection titled ‘Mahet’. The book was published in 1981 through Kuraz publishing company. Mahlet is where Adam's unique style first emerged. There were 11 short stories/essays included in the collection including 'Gilgel Balish' (wicked lamb), 'Samrawiw' (the Samaritan) and 'Elizabel' (Jezebel).[3] In 1998, Adam’s short story titled ‘Zelan’ was published in another collaborative short story collection titled ‘Chigagina Tel’ through Mega publishing company.
Adam Reta’s first novel, 'Giracha Kachiloch' (Grey Bells), is a testament to Adam's rejection to the traditional stylistics and experimentation with various writing forms and thus differentiating himself from the conventional narrative style. Grey Bells was set in the 1974 revolutionary Ethiopia and explores the trials and tribulation of an introspective young boy, Mezgebu, living in his tiny village Nefasmewcha in the pre-, during and post-revolutionary time.[7] With his descriptive writing style, Adam takes the reader through history to explore the 1960s Ethiopia. [8] [9] After Grey bells, Adam published a collection of short stories titled ‘Alengana Misar’ (2009) and a collection of novellas titled ‘Ete Mete Yelomi Shita’. In these works, he further developed his own style of narration and form of writing that he later named Hisinawinet.
His following works 'Yiwesdal Menged, Yametal menged', 'KeSemay YeWerede Firfir' and 'Merek' is where he set himself apart from the rest of the Ethiopian literary community and developed a very distinct individual style and form of expression. His latest novel, Yesinibit Kelemat (The colors of Adios) set in the 1990s Ethiopia is the longest novel in the nations history with 1300 pages. In the book, we see fragmented yet interconnected stories of a set of characters as they explore their individual relationships forming and falling apart in a critical political, social and cultural background.[10]
Adam, in addition to being a pioneer in the post-modernist style in the Ethiopian literature, is also critically acclaimed for navigating and questioning traditional social constructs and gender roles. He is also known for his strong female protagonists.
The Injera Philosophy
[edit]Adam Reta is not only an author but a philosopher in his own right. He uses injera, a traditional pancake bread made from the grain teff that is a staple in Ethiopia, as a symbol for life as well as for his writing. Injera is round but forms hole like structures on the top surface (as a result of bursting bubbles formed from yeast action) while the bottom part is smooth. The non-uniformity in the size and distribution of the holes atop injera for Adam, symbolize different views and outlooks and also different unfilled spaces. And while the holes appear fragmented and distinct when we look from a distance, a closer examination reveals that they are interconnected.[1] He uses this to symbolize the duality of fragmentation and unity. Injera is also a staple food in Ethiopia that is shared by everyone regardless of class and other boundaries.[2] He explains that because it is shared across the community, injera in the memory, imagination and desire of Ethiopians. It is a common object that carries memories and histories of a wide range of the population. [11]
"Injera is round. It is three dimensional yet flat. It has holes and yet consistent. It is between solid and non-solid. At first the injera holes/precisely eyes/ seem to be monads, and yet they are all interconnected through a maze of miniature tunnels. It has a contrasting structure signified by opposites and yet all contributing to its whole physical “survival.” I believe we can explain our social, political, economic, and historical intricacies using this injera metaphor. One area is writing fiction. " - Adam Reta [1]
According to Adam the Injera philosophy contains four integral parts.
- Everything is in a planned and unplanned relationship
- Everything is in a planned and unplanned change
- We share a common lineage to all that is perceived as isolated
- To say something is of success is an acceptance of it's incompleteness.[11]
Hisinawinet
[edit]Hisinawinet is the name given to Adam's unique style of writing. The word Histin is a geez word which is used to express the space found between two alphabets. Adam philosophizes that the "empty spaces" between the letters are as important as the letters themselves. He argues that texts are able to be read because of the “empty space” that is set between the letters."These spaces I took as homologous to the eyes or holes of the injera", explains Adam. With this style of writing, Adam explores spaces and sets his intention to filling these spaces. He believes that what he presents to the reader is the filling of the spaces.[1] Hisinawinet aims at retrieving memory, forgotten spaces/realities, connectivity and meaning. It dives deep into the memories of the characters with aims trying to fill up spaces and ultimately find the connectedness amongst them. [11]
Film Adaptations
[edit]Two of Adams short stories have had movie adaptations.[5]
Personal Life
[edit]Adam currently resides in Ottawa, Canada. [5]
Awards and Nominations
[edit]Best Novella Award, 2014
Nibab LeHiwot (Reading for life) Gold Pen Award, 2017
HoHE Best Novel Award, YeSinibit Kelemat (Colors of Adios), 2017[8]
Published Works
[edit]- Aba Defar and Other Short Stories - 1985 (4 short stories, collaborative work)
- Mahlet - 1989 (A collection of short stories)[12]
- Chigagina Tel and Other Short Stories - 1998 (1 short story, collaborative work)
- Giracha Kachiloch (Grey Bells) - 2005[9]
- Alengana Misir -2009
- EteMete YeLomi Shita - 2009
- Kesemay Yewerede Firfir - 2010[13]
- Yiwesdal Menged Yametal Menged - 2011
- Himamatina Begena - 2008
- Merek- 2015[14]
- YeSinibit Kelemat (Colors of Adios) - 2016[10]
- Af (The mouth) - 2018
- Addis Ababa Noir[15]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Dessalegn, Aklilu (2012). "An Interview with Adam Reta". doi:10.1353/cal.2012.0065.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b Dessalegn, Aklilu (2010-09). Adam Reta as a Literary Existentialist: Textual and Descriptive Criticism. VDM Publishing. ISBN 978-3-639-29109-4.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Chirambo, Reuben Makayiko; Makokha, J. K. S. (2013). Reading Contemporary African Literature: Critical Perspectives. Rodopi. ISBN 978-94-012-0937-3.
- ^ Yechewata Engida (2018). "Adam Reta Radio Interview". Sheger FM 102.1.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c "Adam Reta". eas-et.org. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- ^ Reta, Adam (2009). "Adam Reta- Inspiration". Addis Neger.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Adam Reta". Addis Journal. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- ^ a b Reporter, Staff (2018-05-07). "A digestive peak for an appraisal of Adam Reta". Capital Ethiopia Newspaper. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- ^ a b Walelign, Hiwot (2012-05). Narrative Technique of Adam Reta’s Gracha Qachiloch: Stream-of-Consciousness in Focus (Thesis thesis). Addis Ababa University.
{{cite thesis}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b admin_mulosige (2017-07-14). "Farewell has colors: Adam Reta's "Colors of Adios"". Mulosige. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- ^ a b c ገለታ, ዩሐንስ. "የአዳም ረታ ሕጽናዊነት… እና ከዚያም ባሻገር - Addis Admass Newspaper | Amharic news | Ethiopian news". www.addisadmassnews.com. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
- ^ Reta, Adam (19??). Mahlet (in Amharic).
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Home :: መፃህፍት Books :: ከሰማይ የወረደ ፍርፍር Kesemay Yewerede Frefre By Adam Reta". Sodere Market. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
- ^ Opinion, Ethiopian; 20/09/2014 16:31:00; 4225; Comments (2014-09-20). "Adam Reta's New Book "Merek" To Be Released". ethiogrio.com. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
{{cite web}}:|last2=has numeric name (help) - ^ Addis Ababa Noir (Ethiopia).