Ethiopian Reading Recommendations?

Super quick post: I just subscribed to Helm Magazine, an "Ethiopian fashion and entertainment magazine." If you know me in real life, you may find this strange because you would know that I typically run the other direction from "fashion and entertainment" magazines. (I'll take my feminist response to pop culture magazine instead, thanks very much. And Dell Logic Puzzles. Yes, I'm that cool.) 

But I like the idea of having positive images of Ethiopian beauty and culture in our house, however I can squeeze them in, so Helm looked like a good choice. And--impressive for a magazine that claims to cover "fashion and entertainment" issues--the majority of stories on their current cover are not about either fashion or entertainment. Only one story is devoted to "Summer Trends," while the rest appear (at least from their titles) to discuss real, substantive topics like the work of prominent Ethiopian scholar Dr. Ephraim Isaac (the first professor of Afro-American studies at Harvard University) and the consequences of early marriage traditions for young Ethiopian girls (like those discussed in the PBS Nova special, A Walk To Beautiful). Here's hoping that future issues of Helm prove equally insightful. I'm excited to get it in the mail!

Does anyone have any suggestions for other Ethiopia-centered reading in English? Any Ethiopian literature in translation, perhaps? That's what I'd really like to find, but so far, I'm totally striking out. Yet another reason to revisit my learning Amharic post below, I guess! 

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 | Labels: |

 

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