May Lenna Balisidya Matteru (May 10, 1947 – December 27, 1987) was a Tanzanian author writing in the
Swahili language.
She was born in
Dodoma and attended
primary and
secondary school there. Balisidya received a
BA from the
University of East Africa at Dar es Salaam in 1970 and a
MA in oral literature from the University of Dar es Salaam in 1978. She obtained her
PhD in African literature from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
in November 1987.
[
From 1977 to 1987, she was a lecturer in the Kiswahili department of the University of Dar es Salaam.][
In 1971, she was elected to the Swahili National Council of Tanzania;][
Balisidya died at the age of 40 from cancer.]
Selected works
* ''Shida'' ("Hardships"), novel
* ''Ayubu'' ("Job"), play
* ''Tujifunze Kusoma'' ("Let's learn to read"), children's book
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balisidya, May
1947 births
1987 deaths
University of Dar es Salaam alumni
University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni
Academic staff of the University of Dar es Salaam
Tanzanian women writers
Swahili-language writers