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

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

to have published a novel.

Biography

Filomena Embaló was born in

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, in 1956 to parents from

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

. She moved to

as a teenager, in 1975, and became

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

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 inst ...

in Mozambique. Embaló, who writes in Portuguese, 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) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

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, it aims to protect, project, and promote the common cultural heritage of Lat ...

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 Writers from Luanda University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne alumni Living people