Mariama Ba Books
Mariama Ba (1929–1981) was a Senegalese novelist and feminist known for her sharp critique of patriarchal structures in African society. Her debut novel, So Long a Letter, won the inaugural Noma Award for Publishing in Africa in 1980 and remains a cornerstone of African feminist literature.
Known for: So Long a Letter
Books by Mariama Ba
So Long a Letter
So Long a Letter is a landmark epistolary novel by Senegalese author Mariama Ba. Written as a letter from the recently widowed Ramatoulaye to her friend Aissatou, the book explores themes of love, loss, polygamy, and the struggle for female autonomy in postcolonial Senegal. Through Ramatoulaye’s reflections, Ba offers a poignant critique of gender inequality and the clash between tradition and modernity in West African society.
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Reflections of Youth and the Promise of Independence
When I think back to my youth with Modou Fall, I see two spirits joined by the excitement that independence brought to Senegal. We were educated, idealistic, and fearless in our beliefs. Our marriage was not merely a union of hearts but of convictions — we believed we could embody the new Africa: ed...
From So Long a Letter
The Wound of Polygamy and the Silence of Betrayal
The day Modou took a second wife, my world trembled. It was not the act itself that crushed me — our customs had long permitted such arrangements — but the deception, the exclusion from a decision that concerned my very being. Binetou, the girl who became his new wife, was young enough to be our dau...
From So Long a Letter
About Mariama Ba
Mariama Ba (1929–1981) was a Senegalese novelist and feminist known for her sharp critique of patriarchal structures in African society. Her debut novel, So Long a Letter, won the inaugural Noma Award for Publishing in Africa in 1980 and remains a cornerstone of African feminist literature.
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Mariama Ba (1929–1981) was a Senegalese novelist and feminist known for her sharp critique of patriarchal structures in African society. Her debut novel, So Long a Letter, won the inaugural Noma Award for Publishing in Africa in 1980 and remains a cornerstone of African feminist literature.
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