HAILE SELASSIE I: (1892-1975) Ethiopian Regent Plenipotentiary 1916-30 and Emperor 1930-74. A good printed folio copy of the poem Ethiopia's Resurrection by Kebede Michael, printed in Amharic in two columns within a decorative border, the text commencing 'No matter how many times narrated or written/ The atrocities of the Fascists have no end/ Let alone the youth, even infants were slaughtered/ The churches and huts were burnt down alike/ Village dwellings disappeared, and sedge has replaced them/ The people lost their properties and were tossed/ Many fell down elsewhere, and their estates vanished/ Be it the merchants, peasants or the poor/ All were attacked by the troops of tyranny for five long years', and continuing to describe the atrocities of the Italians, thank God for 'the light has come back' and for restoring Haile Selassie to his throne and country ('Your prayer has been heard, and you have been given the charm/ Your enemy is defeated, run away and become disgraced/ He is wasted and slaughtered in the wilderness…….Then God has witnessed that you deserve justice/ To the generation of the Habeshas, and to the land of Ethiopia/ Now, God's mercy has fallen upon them/ God has made you considerate of your country/ The restorer of freedom, the unifier of your people'), also praising the role of Great Britain, 'The graceful Britain, the graceful England/ She helped us to cross the river of sorrow…..The Great Britain, the advocate of peace/ From now on, it will not allow despots in the world/ To stabilise the world, so that hope shall not be lost/ May Great Britain live forever!'. Signed by Haile Selassie in fountain pen ink to the upper border and dated 1941 in his hand, and with an inscription in Amharic to the Pretoria Museum. Rare in this form, and accompanied by an English translation. Some light creasing and age wear to the edges, only very slightly affecting the signature, and with a small area of scuffing to the upper border causing a very small hole. About VG

 

Kebede Michael (1916-1998) Ethiopian-born writer, poet, playwright, historian, novelist and philosopher who is widely regarded as one of the most prolific and versatile intellectuals of modern Ethiopia.