WRITER

Mariama Bâ

1929 - 1981

Photo of Mariama Bâ

Icon of person Mariama Bâ

Mariama Bâ (April 17, 1929 – August 17, 1981) was a Senegalese author and feminist, whose two French-language novels were both translated into more than a dozen languages. Born in Dakar, Senegal, she was raised a Muslim. Her frustration with the fate of African women is expressed in her first novel, Une si longue lettre (1979; translated into English as So Long a Letter). Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Mariama Bâ has received more than 216,224 page views. Her biography is available in 32 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 29 in 2019). Mariama Bâ is the 2,840th most popular writer (down from 2,782nd in 2019), the 12th most popular biography from Senegal (up from 14th in 2019) and the 2nd most popular Senegalese Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 220k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 53.39

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 32

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.22

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.54

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Une Si Longue Lettre
1986
Une si longue lettre
1987
Scarlet song
1985
So Long a Letter
1989
So long a letter
women's fiction, african fiction, womens fiction
This novel is in the form of a letter, written by the widowed Ramatoulaye and describing her struggle for survival. A beautiful glimpse inside a woman's heart.
1989

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Mariama Bâ ranks 2,840 out of 7,302. Before her are Pierre Grimal, Ronald Harwood, Ben Hecht, Peter Høeg, Fritz Mauthner, and Delmira Agustini. After her are Fatma Aliye Topuz, Lucius Afranius, Saken Seifullin, Ango Sakaguchi, Farag Foda, and Song Yingxing.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1929, Mariama Bâ ranks 199. Before her are Hong Song-nam, Nadja Tiller, James R. Schlesinger, Petr Shelokhonov, Prince Andrew of Yugoslavia, and Selim Hoss. After her are Alexis Weissenberg, Roger Bannister, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Lee Hazlewood, Fazil Iskander, and Julinho. Among people deceased in 1981, Mariama Bâ ranks 102. Before her are Mostafa Chamran, Claude Auchinleck, Jim Davis, Zdeněk Burian, Roman Rudenko, and Lanza del Vasto. After her are Hermann Esser, Bobby Sands, Norman Taurog, Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza, Walter Heitler, and Edward Lasker.

Others Born in 1929

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Others Deceased in 1981

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In Senegal

Among people born in Senegal, Mariama Bâ ranks 12 out of 138. Before her are Abdou Diouf (1935), Youssou N'Dour (1959), Ousmane Sembène (1923), Cheikh Anta Diop (1923), Sadio Mané (1992), and Patrice Evra (1981). After her are Jean-Pierre Adams (1948), Lamine Diack (1933), Souleymane Sané (1961), Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow (1921), Aliou Cissé (1976), and Papa Bouba Diop (1978).

Others born in Senegal

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Among WRITERS In Senegal

Among writers born in Senegal, Mariama Bâ ranks 2. Before her are Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906). After her are Aminata Sow Fall (1941), Birago Diop (1908), Cheikh Hamidou Kane (1928), Fatou Diome (1968), Khady Sylla (1963), and Mohamed Mbougar Sarr (1990).

Senegalese born Writers

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