Ghirmai Negash
Education
- Ph.D., Leiden University, The Netherlands
Biography
Scholarly Focus
Ghirmai Negash, Ph.D. in African Literature and Critical Theory from the University of Leiden, is a Professor of English and African Literature at Ohio University, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in English and Global Literatures. He is a former director of the African Studies Program (2016-2025), Ohio University, founder and former editor of the Modern African Writing series of the Ohio University Press, and past chair of the Department of Eritrean Languages and Literature at the University of Asmara (2001-2005). A multilingual in several European and African languages, Negash publishes in both English and African languages. His research covers modern African literature from the Horn of Africa and South Africa, as well as critical theory, translation, and indigenous African knowledge systems.
He has authored and edited eight books, notably A Postcolonial History of Tigrinya Literature in Eritrea, 1890-1919 (1999); At the Crossroads: Readings of the Postcolonial and the Global in African Literature and Visual Art; and translated G. Hailu’s 1927 Tigrinya novel, The Conscript into English (2013). His scholarly articles have appeared in journals such as MLA, Research in African Literatures, Biography, and Imbizo: International Journal of African Literary and Comparative Studies. Negash is a member of the African Academy of Sciences and has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (STIAS). He served as a convener for the African Literature Association’s annual conference in 2011 and 2022, and was President of the organization from 2020 to 2021.
Journal Article, Academic Journal (5)
- Negash, G. (2012). “The Freedom of the Writer” . New York: “The Freedom of the Writer,” Warscapes http://www.warscapes.com/retrospectives/eritrea/freedom-writer, 2012; https://“The Freedom of the Writer,” Warscapes http://www.warscapes.com/retrospectives/eritrea/freedom-writer, 2012.
- Negash, G. (2010). Linguicism, Euphemism, and Xenophobia in Phaswane Mpe’s Welcome To Hillbrow. Johannesburg, South Africa: Imbizo: International Journal of African Literary and Comparative Studies; 2: 80-97.
- Negash, G. (2009). Native Intellectuals in the Contact Zone: African Responses to Italian Colonialism. 1. Hawaii, Honolulu: Biography; 32: 74-88.
- Negash, G. (2009). Dedicated to America: Melancholy and Laughter in Zakes Mda’s Cion. 2. Drexel University: Journal of African Literature Association; 2: 60-77.
- Negash, G. (2009). Eritrean Novel, Tebereh’s Shop,” Research in African Literatures 40.3 ( Fall 2009), pp. . 3. Bloomington, IL: Research in African Literatures; 40: 1-15.
Book, Scholarly (3)
- Negash, G. (2014). Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. : Africa World Press; 359 pages.
- Negash, G. (2013). Athens: Ohio University Press; 60 pages, plus 28 pages of critical introduction.
- Negash, G. (2009). A History of Tigrinya Literature in Eritrea . Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press.
Book, Chapter in Scholarly Book (2)
- Negash, G. (2022). 2022: “Hauntings of Colonial Violence: Views from 1927 and 2020 Eritrea,” in Spazio Disponibile, edited by Gaëtane Verna and Liz Park (Milan: Mousse Publishing, 2022), pp. 72-81. Milan: Mousse Publishing; 72-81.
- Negash, G. (2022). 2022: “The Rise and Fall of the Eritrean Liberation Front” co-written with Angessom Atsbaha, in Eritrea: Nationhood and Sovereignty, edited by Bereket Habte Selassie (Trenton NJ, Africa World Press), pp. 270-288.. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.
Online Article (2)
- Negash, G. (2024). African Poetry in Translation. Versopolis; https://www.versopolis.com/translator/197/ghirmai-negash.
- Negash, G. African Poetry in Translation. Versopolis; https://www.versopolis.com/translator/197/ghirmai-negash.
Other (5)
- Negash, G. (2011). Abraham Demoz. Oxford University Press: The Oxord Dictionary of African Biography; 1000 words.
- Negash, G. (2011). Beyene Haile, Literary enfant terrible. Oxford University Press: The Oxford Dictionary of African Biography; 1000 words.
- Negash, G. (2011). Fesseha Giyorgis, The Author's Journey. The Oxford Dictionary of African Biography: The Oxford Dictionary of African Biography; 1000 words.
- Negash, G. (2011). Gebreyesus Hailu and The Conscript. Oxford University Press: The Oxford Dictionary of African Biography; 1000 words.
- Negash, G. (2011). Introduction to Phasphane Mpe's Welcome To Our Hillbrow. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press.
Translation or Transcription (1)
- Negash, G. (2010). The Conscript (A Novel). New York: New Directions.