Silva Hazel (2 results)

plastic_comb. Condition: Fair. 1975 edition. Heavy wear on the cover with some brown/white staining.

Sole edition, by the first female Seychellois author to be published in English. According to De Silva's loosely inserted letter to an unidentified recipient, the poetry follows the pattern of Seychelles Sega, a local art form involving music, dance, and performance. She uses this style to reveal "the traditions, lore, gossip and even history of the country all in the oral tradition". Hazel de Silva Mugot (1947-1996) was born to a Sri Lankan father and Seychellois mother in Kenya. She moved to the US for university, then relocated to the Seychelles to train as a teacher and journalist. "Her novel. emphasizes the complex roles of the women of Seychelles, her mother's home island" (Miller, p. 226). Her other works include Black Night of Quiloa (1971) and Makongo, the Hyena (undated). Jane Eldridge Miller, ed., Who's Who in Contemporary Women's Writing, 2002. Octavo. Text in English and French. Original colour card wrappers, spine and covers lettered in black and white. Wrappers rubbed and creased, edges a little soiled, half-title torn at foot: a very good copy.