Filomena Araújo Embaló (born 1956) is an Angolan-born Bissau-Guinean writer. She is the first woman in

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), ...

to have published a novel.

Biography

Filomena Embaló was born in

Luanda Luanda () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major Angola#Economy, industrial, Angola#Culture, cultural and Angola#Demographics, urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atl ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, in 1956 to parents from Cape Verde. She moved to

as a teenager, in 1975, and became naturalized there. Embaló then studied economics at the

University of Reims The University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (; URCA), also known simply as the University of Reims, is a public university based in Reims, France. In addition to the main campus in Reims, the university has several campuses located throughout t ...

in France. She holds a doctorate degree. The 1998–1999 civil war in Guinea-Bissau sent Embaló into an identity crisis, which she explores in her first novel, ''Tiara'', published in 1999. The first novel to be published by a Bissau-Guinean woman, ''Tiara'' deals with the fallout of colonialism in a fictionalized African country. It was published by the

Instituto Camões The Instituto Camões ( English: ''Camões Institute''), formally, Camões — Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua, I. P. ( English: ''Camões — Institute for Cooperation and Language, Public Institute''), is a Portuguese international instit ...

in Mozambique. Embaló, who writes in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, went on to publish a short story collection, ''Carta aberta'', in 2005 and a poetry collection, ''Coração cativo'', in 2008. She has also written magazine and journal articles about Bissau-Guinean economics and literature. Embaló is an avid campaigner for women's rights in Guinea-Bissau. She has worked as a civil servant at home and abroad, at

NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

including the

Latin Union The Latin Union is an international organization of nations that use Romance languages, whose activities have been suspended since 2012. Headquartered in Paris, France, its aim is to protect, project, and promote the common cultural heritage of ...

before its dissolution in 2012, and as a diplomat.

Works

* 1999: ''Tiara'' (novel) * 2005: ''Carta aberta'' (stories) * 2008: ''Coração cativo'' (poetry)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Embaló, Filomena 1956 births Bissau-Guinean women writers Bissau-Guinean women diplomats Bissau-Guinean diplomats Bissau-Guinean poets Bissau-Guinean women poets Angolan women poets 21st-century Angolan poets 21st-century Angolan women People from Luanda University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne alumni Living people