Keep Up With Global Black News

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest updates and events from the leading Afro-Diaspora publisher straight to your inbox.

Avatar photo
BY Francis Akhalbey, 8:30am May 31, 2023,

Award-winning Ghanaian author Ama Ata Aidoo dies aged 81

Avatar photo
by Francis Akhalbey, 8:30am May 31, 2023,
Prof. Ama Ata Aidoo was a renowned author, poet, educator and playwright

Renowned Ghanaian author, poet, educator, and playwright, Prof. Ama Ata Aidoo, passed away in the wee hours of Wednesday at the age of 81, her family announced in a statement. Born in Abeadzi Kyiako, Ghana, Prof. Aidoo was a celebrated African author who mainly specialized in comparative and post-colonial literature.

“The Family of PROF. AMA ATA AIDOO with deep sorrow but in the hope of the resurrection, informs the general public that our beloved relative and writer passed away in the early hours of this morning, Wednesday 31st May 2023, after a short illness,” the deceased author’s family said in the statement obtained by CitiNewsroom

“Funeral arrangements would be announced in due course. The Family requests privacy at this difficult moment.”

Most of Prof. Aidoo’s works usually explored themes related to the inevitable but sometimes uneasy coexistence between Western influences and the traditional African value system. Aidoo was also a pan-African feminist.

Regarded among the foremost African writers of the 20th and 21st centuries, Prof. Aidoo won the coveted Commonwealth Writers Prize of 1992. She also served as Ghana’s Minister for Education under President Jerry Rawlings’ reign. 

Prof. Aidoo authored a number of influential works, including “Our Sister Killjoy”, “Changes”, and “Someone Talking to Sometime.” Her first written play, “The Dilemma of a Ghost (1964)”, was published by Longman in 1965. This made her the first published African female dramatist.

Last Edited by:Editor Updated: June 11, 2023

Conversations

Must Read

Connect with us

Join our Mailing List to Receive Updates

Face2face Africa | Afrobeatz+ | BlackStars

Keep Up With Global Black News and Events

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest updates and events from the leading Afro-Diaspora publisher straight to your inbox, plus our curated weekly brief with top stories across our platforms.

No, Thank You