Filomena Embaló
Angolan-born Bissau-Guinean writer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Filomena Araújo Embaló[1] (born 1956) is an Angolan-born Bissau-Guinean writer. She is the first woman in Guinea-Bissau to have published a novel.[2]
Filomena Embaló | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1956 (age 69–70) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Alma mater | University of Reims |
Biography
Filomena Embaló was born in Luanda, Angola, in 1956 to parents from Cape Verde.[3] She moved to Guinea-Bissau as a teenager, in 1975, and became naturalized there.[4] Embaló then studied economics at the University of Reims in France.[3] She holds a doctorate degree.[5]
The 1998–1999 civil war in Guinea-Bissau sent Embaló into an identity crisis,[3] which she explores in her first novel, Tiara, published in 1999.[6][7] The first novel to be published by a Bissau-Guinean woman, Tiara deals with the fallout of colonialism in a fictionalized African country.[2] It was published by the Instituto Camões in Mozambique.[6][3]
Embaló, who writes in Portuguese,[2] went on to publish a short story collection, Carta aberta, in 2005[4] and a poetry collection, Coração cativo, in 2008.[8]
She has also written magazine and journal articles about Bissau-Guinean economics and literature.[9]
Embaló is an avid campaigner for women's rights in Guinea-Bissau.[2] She has worked as a civil servant at home and abroad,[10] at NGOs[8] including the Latin Union before its dissolution in 2012,[1] and as a diplomat.[3][11]
Works
- 1999: Tiara (novel)
- 2005: Carta aberta (stories)
- 2008: Coração cativo (poetry)