Google Commemorates Success of 1st Sudanese Female Music Composer

Google Doodle celebrated the anniversary of the huge success achieved by Sudanese composer and oud player, Asma Hamza
Google Doodle celebrated the anniversary of the huge success achieved by Sudanese composer and oud player, Asma Hamza
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Google Commemorates Success of 1st Sudanese Female Music Composer

Google Doodle celebrated the anniversary of the huge success achieved by Sudanese composer and oud player, Asma Hamza
Google Doodle celebrated the anniversary of the huge success achieved by Sudanese composer and oud player, Asma Hamza

Google Doodle celebrated the anniversary of the huge success achieved by Sudanese composer and oud player, Asma Hamza, who was known as the oud princess.

On July 19, 1997, Asma was the first Sudanese female composer to win the national music competition Laylat Al-Qadr Al-Kubra, which was a turning point in her career and helped her gain recognition in a male-dominated field in her country.

Her first popular work was composing the music of the “Al Zaman Al Tayb” written by Sudanese poet Saifeddine el-Desouki, and sang by Sudanese singer Sumaya Hassan in 1983.

Born in 1932, Hamza loved music from a young age, dreaming of becoming a singer. However, her vocal cords were not equipped to handle singing safely, so she switched to whistling melodies instead. When her father heard her whistle in harmony, he borrowed an oud (similar to a lute but with a thinner neck and no frets) so Asma could practice.

She taught herself to play oud using her memory and her musical sense. Despite that it was not socially tolerable for women to practice music in Sudan during her time, her father was one of few who encouraged her interest in music. According to Google, Asma composed her first musical piece in secrecy.

The first music she ever composed was “Ya Ouyouni” for a poem by Egyptian poet Ali Mahmoud Taha, in 1956.

With time, she collaborated with many talented Arab artists. She composed over 90 songs and became one of the most renowned female composers in Sudan. She also kept playing oud and officially became the first trained oud player in 1946.

Asma Hamza died in May 2018.



Elizabeth Strout, Miranda July are Among Finalists for the Women's Prize for Fiction

Yael Van Der Wouden arrives at the Booker Prize award dinner in London, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (ΑΡ Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
Yael Van Der Wouden arrives at the Booker Prize award dinner in London, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (ΑΡ Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
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Elizabeth Strout, Miranda July are Among Finalists for the Women's Prize for Fiction

Yael Van Der Wouden arrives at the Booker Prize award dinner in London, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (ΑΡ Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
Yael Van Der Wouden arrives at the Booker Prize award dinner in London, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (ΑΡ Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)

American authors Elizabeth Strout and Miranda July are among finalists announced Wednesday for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, alongside four debut novelists exploring the search for freedom in different countries and cultures.

Pulitzer Prize winner Strout’s Maine-set mystery novel “Tell Me Everything” and writer'-filmmaker July’s “All Fours,” in which a “semi-famous artist” seeks a new life, are shortlisted for the 30,000 pound ($39,000) prize. It's open to female English-language writers from any country.

The contenders also include Dutch writer Yael van der Wouden’s postwar story “The Safekeep” and German-born poet Aria Aber’s novel “Good Girl,” about a teenager exploring her dual German-Afghan heritage.

Also on the list are Iran-born writer Sanam Mahloudji’s intergenerational family saga “The Persians,” and “Fundamentally” by Britain's Nussaibah Younis, about an academic trying to rehabilitate women caught up with ISIS, The AP news reported.

Author Kit de Waal, who is chairing the panel of judges, said that the six books were “classics of the future” that explored “the importance of human connection.”

“What is surprising and refreshing is to see so much humor, nuance and lightness employed by these novelists to shed light on challenging concepts,” she said.

Previous winners of the fiction prize, founded in 1996, include Zadie Smith, Tayari Jones and Barbara Kingsolver.

Last year, award organizers launched a companion Women’s Prize for Nonfiction to help rectify an imbalance in publishing. In 2022, only 26.5% of nonfiction books reviewed in Britain’s newspapers were by women, and male writers dominated established nonfiction writing prizes.

Winners of both nonfiction and fiction prizes will be announced on June 12 at a ceremony in London.