Poetry Translation Centre

Mengistu Lemma

Mengistu Lemma (1928-1988) was a playwright and poet of the post-1941 period in Ethiopian Amharic literature. He was steeped in traditional literary culture having undertaken a church education in his early years and was very much influenced by his father. However he was part of the socially committed trend in literature and was concerned in this with popularizing indigenous culture which included a collection called Yabbatoch Ch'ewata (Pastimes of the Forefathers). His plays which were predominantly comedies with a strong social message became very popular and he translated one Yalacha Gabacha into English as A Marriage of Unequals (London 1970). YeGit'im Guba'e (Synod of Poetry) was a wonderful collection of poems which moved the style of Amharic poetry forwards building on the pioneering work of figures such as Kebbede Mika'el whilst still retaining a flavour of the traditional poetic style of oral poetry. This poetry was and still is highly thought of and it is one of these poems which has been translated for the Poetry Translation Centre.

Martin Orwin

Poems we've translated

• Longing