Sandra Aikaruwa Mushi (born 1974) is a Tanzanian writer, primarily of poetry and short stories.

Sandra Mushi
Sandra Mushi with one of her paintings
Sandra Mushi with one of her paintings
BornAikaruwa Mushi
1974 (age 49–50)
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
OccupationWriter
Alma materCape Peninsula University of Technology
GenrePoetry, novel

Biography

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Mushi was born in Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania, in 1974.[1][2] She spent her childhood between the United Kingdom, Tanzania, and Botswana.[3]

She studied interior design in South Africa at Cape Technikon, then began a career as an interior designer.[4][5][6]

While continuing to work in design, Mushi began a career as a writer. She has published stories and poetry in various magazines and journals, including in JENdA: A Journal of Culture and African Women Studies and through the Africa Knowledge Project and the literary organization SOMA.[3][7] She has also written columns on interior design for The Citizen and other Tanzanian publications. Her work was included in the anthology Reflections: An Anthology of New Work by African Women Poets in 2013.[1][3]

Her first book, the poetry collection The Rhythmn of My Rhyme, was published by Andika Afrika in 2008.[3][5] It is not clear whether the misspelling of "Rhythm" is intentional.[2]

Her second book, Stains on My Khanga, is a collection of short stories and poems and was published in 2014.[8][9][10]

Mushi has been categorized as an important contributor to contemporary Tanzanian literature, particularly among women writers.[11][12]

Her writing has sometimes been characterized as satire, focusing on the daily lives of women. She previously described herself as "neither a feminist nor an activist," but later quoted Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to assert, "We should all be feminists." She primarily writes in English, with some Swahili in her later work. Her later work is also more serious in tone, frequently dealing with domestic violence and other struggles women face.[3][4][9][10][13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "SANDRA AIKARUWA MUSHI" (PDF). The African Institute of the Interior Design Professions. 2016.
  2. ^ a b Mushi, Sandra A., 1974– (2008). The rhythmn [sic] of my rhyme : reflections of a contemporary young woman in Tanzania. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Andika Afrika Publishers. ISBN 978-9987-9155-1-4. OCLC 275156051.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e "A Personal Conversation with Sandra Mushi Tanzania's Celebrated Poet, Author and Interior Designer". Chicamod. 2014-03-10. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  4. ^ a b Mhagama, Hilda (2014-12-06). "Sandra Mushi: Tanzanians Lack Reading Culture". Daily News.
  5. ^ a b "Sandra A Mushi". The Seattle Star. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  6. ^ "Shattered Dreams: Fiction by Sandra A. Mushi". AfricanWriter.com. 2014-05-29. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  7. ^ Tchokothe, Remi Armand. (2014). Transgression in Swahili narrative fiction and its reception. Zürich. ISBN 978-3-643-90393-8. OCLC 870962546.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ Mushi, Sandra Aikaruwa (2014). Stains on my khanga. ISBN 978-0-620-58475-3. OCLC 919194756.
  9. ^ a b Osofisan, Sola (2015-01-20). "Sandra A. Mushi: The Survival of Women is Still at the Mercy of Men". AfricanWriter.com. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  10. ^ a b "MEET THE AUTHOR: Oh! Some stains on my khanga...". The Citizen. 2014-10-28.
  11. ^ "Raising next generation of writers". The Citizen. 2015-10-19.
  12. ^ Mngodo, Esther (2014-12-27). "Women made big strides but still have miles to go". The Citizen.
  13. ^ "Kiswahili finally on the map". The Citizen. 2015-02-03.