“I am interested only in writing and not fame, money or other considerations.”
The first time I got to know the name Mulugeta Gudeta was back at the University When I was studying English Language and Literature. I still remember how Mulugeta’s English novel Evil Days impacted our lecturer who had the similar story with the novel. So, he gave us a project studying the theme and the style of this notable work of Mulugeta. Reading it, I was impressed by his command of English and literary talent. His Amharic novel “Endayedegm” the second book from him I read is also captivating and touching. Mulugeta is also brave enough to touch Ethiopia’s darkest time and build a story out of it. Evil days and “Endayedegm” among his works set at time of military Junta Derg and reveals the horror of the time. Mulugeta is among few Multilingual Ethiopian writers. However, Mulugeta hasn’t got a recognition he deserves. Among other reasons, this is due to his reservation to promote himself. Ethiopian Herald has got time to ask Author Mulugeta Gudeta why he chose to be reserved despite his telling works.
You are prolific writer with more than 14 books and several articles but you haven’t been seen promoting your works. Why do you choose to be mysterious?
To be more accurate, I have written 20 books of fiction and more than 15 non-fiction or educational books and translations. I don’t promote my books simply because I don’t see the need to do so because the financial interest comes second or it does not come. I am interested only in writing and not fame, money or other considerations. I am no trying to be modest but this is what I feel and believe. Mysterious is not the right word. I am rather a loner and this is my nature. I often want to be alone and this has helped my writing because when you are alone you have no distraction and privacy is the best friend of writers.
When did you start to know your artistic talent?
I started to write composition in French when I was in high school at the Lycee Gebre Mariam. My language teachers encouraged me to write more saying that I may have something special to say. One of my language teachers once told me that what I write was too much for my age. I was also reading literature at school and politics when I went to AAU. All this contributed to my becoming a writer later in my life. I wrote my first fiction in Amharic when I was 30.
You wrote in three different languages which is very rare in Ethiopia. How do you describe the benefit of writing in different languages mostly on international languages?
My tendency is to write something different and the idea of writing in more than one language came to me when a professor at the Italian school here in Addis told me that she was translating my short story collection entitled “The Children of Poverty” back in 2000. She translated three of the stories in Italian while I wrote the rest in English and French.
I understand you are also a good reader. How do you balance your writing and reading activity?
I must admit that I am not a voracious reader because I get bored with reading big books. Anyway I am not someone who first read and then started to write. The writing came first followed by reading and then writing again…etc. It is a kind of cyclic process. The more you read the better is for your writing.
Tell us how you write Evil Days? Evil days and “Endayedegem” talk about friendship and traumatic experience of that generation. Do you have similar story in your real life? What are your memories?
I was often reading comments by foreign journalists saying that Ethiopians are shy or scared of writing about their recent history. The journalist in question said that she had only read two books about the Red Terror and this gave me the impetus to write Evil Days which is later accepted as a contribution to the story of that period as I am from the Red Terror generation and I knew a lot of things about it. I used imagination and facts to compose the book in one month. I have unpublished work in Amharic about the “Zemecha” and the Terror. There are abundant materials enough for 50 books.
In the story, you employed metamorphism to best describe the time. Do you believe it is a metamorphic process for Derg regime to be brutal?
I don’t know what metamorphic means and I cannot give you an answer to the question.
In your writing especially “Endayedegm” and Evil Days, there are superstitious activities. What did superstitious got to do with our politics and social life. Do you have knowledge about it?
I would say folk culture instead of “superstitious activities” folklore is part of Ethiopian traditions and practices. These are practices that may look unbelievable or backward but in reality they are part of the psychic make up of most Ethiopians. I often use these practices to portray the thinking and intentions of the characters or move the plot forward. This device is popular in African fiction by Achebe, Wa Tiongo and Ben Okri in particular if you read his “Famished Road” that has won the Booker Prize.
How do you get the feedback for evil days?
The problem is that there are not many people who read fiction in English and even in Amharic. It was however well-received by the department of foreign languages at the Addis Ababa University where it is used for writing critical literary papers by post-graduate students. One student sent me her assignment and it was an interesting paper.
Do you see progress or regress in Ethiopian literature as someone who has been there for a long time?
I have rarely thought about this issue as it is the concerns of rather literary critics or University professors. It is not up to me to judge Ethiopian literature. My job is to write as much as I can and as much as my experience permits me.
What are the challenges staying in this work?
There can be many challenges. The first is to publish, as there are no literary publishing houses in this country. The other is being a part time writer. You cannot do great things by sharing your time between literature, journalism and fighting to stay alive. Poverty is also a big enemy for writers in Ethiopia as they struggle to make ends meet for them and their families. Last but not least there is this fact that you earn little at the end of the day from your literary efforts. Most if not all writers work for the benefit of booksellers and individual publishers who would often tell you that your book is not sold and delay payment indefinitely until you get fed up of appointments so that they don’t pay you at the end of the day. There are some who are outright cheaters, who take advantage of your poverty as a writer and you live in this kind of dilemma all the time. I personally give up the money aspect and concentrate on my writing which is a good outlet to keep me calm and sane.
What do you think should be done to have a reading and writing generation?
You cannot create a reading and writing generation. Writers are not rated by Universities or high schools. They come out naturally. You write not because you know the techniques of writing but because there is something you want to tell the world and this “something” makes you restless as it struggles to come out. Almost all writers come from non-literary backgrounds. I for instance was a student of political science and international relations and a practicing journalist with no education in literature.
BY: KFLEEYESUS ABEBE
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 3 JUNE 2022
