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introduction The twentieth century saw the beginning of fictional writing in Ethiopia.  After a hesitant beginning, the market became, in a modest way considering the demand of Ethiopia's  reading public, almost flooded by the second half of the century Many of the authors who then appeared will remain  important as long as Ethiopian literature continues to be read  others have made more ephemeral contributions For my p art, I have no notion who Ethiopia's greatest author is, although I believe Be'alu Girma is among the greatest, as are Haddïs Alemayyehu, Seggayé Gebre-Medhin, and perhaps also Birhanu Zerïhun. On the whole, the hunt for the greatest Ethiopian author is both futile and misleading. I shall not attempt to judge the two authors I write about below  still,They a re worthy o f notice, a nd both have their adherents and are loved by many readers.  I knew Debbebe Seyfu fairly well when I wrote my book about Ethiopian writers Black Lions, 1 and I knew Afewerq Yohannis's work very well. From my earliest days in Ethiopia. I have collected some biographical notes on Them after their deaths. I owe most of what I know about their lives to sources and interviews with others, as I did not interview them during their life times. When I was collecting materials for Black Lions, I had of course to make many Choices on whom to include. Most choices were obvious, but in some cases I also Consulted  others, not least Ato Amare Mammo. He had first suggested I write such a book, a suggestion later supported b y several other Ethiopians who knew the Ethiopian literary scene best of all. I decided not to include the authors I list below in Black Lions,but the two most note worthy are featured in this article. |
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Reidulf K. Molvaer -Michigan State University Press- |