María Nsué Angüe

Who is María Nsué Angüe?

María Pilar Nsué Angüe Osa was born in Bidjabidjan in the Río Muni region of what is now mainland Equatorial Guinea, to ethnic Fang parents. She emigrated to Spain with her family as a child and was educated there, later returning to an independent Equatorial Guinea in her twenties, where she worked for the country's Ministry of Culture and Education. In 1985 she published "Ekomo," the first novel written by an Equatoguinean woman, a work that follows a young Fang widow, Nnanga Ekomo, through grief, tradition, and the search for a cure for her dying husband, blending Fang oral storytelling rhythms with a modern narrative voice. The novel is regarded as a landmark of Equatoguinean and African women's literature for its unflinching treatment of gender, tradition, and post-colonial identity. She also wrote poetry, including the 1991 collection "Delirios" ("Delirium"), along with short stories and essays addressing women's rights and the tensions between Fang custom and modern Guinean society. She died on 18 January 2017. Alongside Leoncio Evita Enoy and Donato Ndongo-Bidyogo, she is considered one of the founding figures of Equatoguinean literature in Spanish.

Sources: Wikipedia, "María Nsué Angüe" · Marvin A. Lewis, An Introduction to the Literature of Equatorial Guinea: Between Colonialism and Dictatorship (University of Missouri Press, 2007)