Date of Birth: September 25, 1964
Zodiac Sign: Libra
Biography
Aminatta Forna is a renowned British-Sierra Leonean writer and memoirist, celebrated for her profound and evocative storytelling. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, to a Scottish mother and a Sierra Leonean father, her multicultural background deeply influences her literary work. Forna spent her early years in Sierra Leone, Iran, Thailand, and Zambia, reflecting the diverse experiences and cultures she encountered. Her father, Mohamed Forna, was a Sierra Leonean doctor and politician who was executed in 1975, an event that profoundly impacted her life and writing. This personal history is explored in her memoir, “The Devil that Danced on the Water,” which received critical acclaim for its poignant narrative and historical insight. Forna’s novels, including “Ancestor Stones,” “The Memory of Love,” “The Hired Man,” and “Happiness,” have established her as a significant voice in contemporary literature. Her works often deal with themes of memory, trauma, and the legacy of war, drawing on her own experiences and observations of conflict and recovery. Aminatta Forna has received numerous awards and honors, including the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize, and being shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction. She also contributes to various literary and cultural discussions through essays, lectures, and media appearances.
5 Interesting Facts about Aminatta Forna
1. Aminatta Forna’s memoir, “The Devil that Danced on the Water,” explores the political turmoil in Sierra Leone and her father’s tragic fate.
2. She has lived in various countries, including Iran, Thailand, and Zambia, due to her father’s diplomatic career.
3. Her novel “The Memory of Love” was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction and won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.
4. In 2014, she was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to literature.
5. Forna has been a fellow at both the Royal Society of Literature and the University of East Anglia.
5 Most Interesting Quotes from Aminatta Forna
1. “Memory is the seamstress, and a capricious one at that.”
2. “The story of war was never the story of one person alone.”
3. “What one person remembers and another forgets changes the shape of the world.”
4. “To understand the present, you have to know the past.”
5. “Happiness is not a state, it is a story.”
Highest Net Worth Achieved
The highest net worth achieved by Aminatta Forna is estimated to be around $1-5 million.
Children
Aminatta Forna has kept her personal life relatively private, and there is limited public information available about her children.
Relevant Links
1. [Aminatta Forna’s Official Website](http://www.aminattaforna.com/
3. [Aminatta Forna’s Profile on The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/profile/aminattaforna
4. [Aminatta Forna’s Books on Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/321528.Aminatta_Forna
