Amma Darko
Amma Darko (born 1956) is a Ghanaian novelist. She won The Golden Baobab Prize for one of her novels. She has published seven novels in total.
Amma Darko

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- Name
- Amma Darko
- Born
- 25 June 1956
- Birthplace
- Koforidua, Ghana
- Occupation
- Writer
- Full name
- Ophelia Amma Darko.
- Nationality
- Ghana.
- Education
- Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
- Known for
- Beyond the Horizon, Faceless, Cobwebs, Stray Heart, Between Two Worlds and The Housemaid.
- Honours
- literary award.
- Languages
- English and German.
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Documentary connections
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q452860 · wikipedia · Amma Darko
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
The documentary record
Statements marked “Documentary record” are set in the article beside the passage they confirm. Each is read from the authority records of the institutions named here; select “Prove” to see the record it was read from, where in that record, and when.
Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Complete reading chain (JSON)In this article
Biography
Biography
Amma Darko studied at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. The recorded working language is English and German. Works named in the authority record are Beyond the Horizon, Faceless, Cobwebs, Stray Heart, Between Two Worlds and The Housemaid. Distinctions recorded are literary award.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Amma Darko • Born — 25 June 1956 • Birthplace — Koforidua, Ghana • Citizenship — Ghanaian, German • Occupation — Writer • Years Active — 1995–present • Notable Works — Faceless
Documentary record
Amma Darko (born 1956) is documented in the authority records of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Amma Darko was born in 1956; the birthplace is recorded as Tamale, Ghana by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek and as Koforidua, Ghana by the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Life and writing
Life and writing
She was born in Koforidua, Ghana, and grew up in Accra. She studied in Kumasi, where she received her diploma in 1980. Then she worked for the Science and Technology Center in Kumasi. During the 1980s, she lived and worked for some time in Germany. She has since returned to Accra. Her novels illustrate everyday life in Ghana. She also paints clear pictures of the exploitation of women through her works. Her first novel, Beyond the Horizon, was originally published in Germany. Her most recent novels, Faceless and Not without flowers, were published in Ghana. She also wrote The Housemaid. Her work has been discussed in Vincent O. Odamtten's book Broadening the Horizon: Critical Introductions to Amma Darko, in the 2001 doctoral thesis by Louise Allen Zak "Writing her way: a study of Ghanaian novelist Amma Darko", and in several academic journals.
Identity
Identity
Amma Darko is recorded as having received literary award.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1956
Amma Darko born at Koforidua.
Scholarly works about Darko's writings
• Aiyetoro, Mary B. & Valentine Chimenem Owhorodu. "Causes, Effects, and Feminist Antidotes to Trafficking in Amma Darko's Beyond the Horizon. Ibadan Journal of English Studies 7 (2018): 185–196.
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Darko, Amma: Beyond the Horizon, Kindlers Literatur Lexikon (KLL), 2020
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2020
- Darko, Amma: Faceless, Kindlers Literatur Lexikon (KLL), 2020
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2020
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q452860: Amma Darko
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Amma Darko”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Amma Darko, revision 1372666363 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Amma DARKO The International Writing Program. iwp.uiowa.edu.
- 2.Ghanaian Novelist - Amma Darko. Modern Ghana.
- 3.Amma Darko. Casafrica. 2017-02-10.
- 4.Amma Darko: African women writing back. THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora!.
- 5.African Books Collective: Amma Darko. www.africanbookscollective.com.
- 6.Zak, Louise Allen. Writing her way: A study of Ghanaian novelist Amma Darko. Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. 1–197. 2001-01-01.
- 7.Joseph Nsiah and Charles Marfo. What's In a Title? A Reading of Amma Darko's The Housemaid. Researchgate. 2011.
- 8.bookshy: Book Review: Amma Darko's "The Housemaid". bookshy.
- 9.Darko, Amma. The Housemaid. Heinemann. 1998. 0435910086.
- 10."Broadening the horizon : critical introductions to Amma Darko" at WorldCat.
- 11."Writing her way: a study of Ghanaian novelist Amma Darko" at WorldCat.
- 12.Amma Darko at WorldCat.
- 13.Darko, Amma 1956– Encyclopedia.com. www.encyclopedia.com.
- 14.Schwarzbeck, Nadina. Touring Germany. www.dw.com. Deutsche Welle. 19 November 2013.
- 15.Faceless. 978-9988-550-50-9.
- 16.Adhuze, Helen. Amma Darko's 'Faceless': The making of street children. Nigerian Tribune. 2020-07-22.
- 17.Not Without Flowers by Amma Darko. Farm Lane Books Blog. 2013-11-12.
- 18.Text quoted with permission of Amma Darko and Regina Bouillon.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 7
- Darko, Amma 1956– Encyclopedia.com. www.encyclopedia.com Heinemann/Schmetterling-Verl. ISBN.
- 1996: Spinnweben ("Cobwebs"; no English edition). Schmetterling-Verl. .
- 2000: Verirrtes Herz ("Stray heart"; no English edition). Schmetterling-Verlag. .
- Faceless. 978-9988-550-50-9.
- Not Without Flowers by Amma Darko. Farm Lane Books Blog. 2013-11-12.
- 2015: Between Two Worlds. Sub-Saharan Publishers. .
- 2015: The Necklace of Tales. German translation: Das Halsband der Geschichten. Young readers' book. elbaol verlag hamburg, Meldorf 2019
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Institutional witnessscholarly publication
Darko, Amma: Faceless, Kindlers Literatur Lexikon (KLL), 2020Crossref registry
Institutional witnessInstitutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q452860: Amma DarkoWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Formation and teaching. Darko studied at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. The record notes the qualification diploma. Work and production. Works recorded as notable number 6: Beyond the Horizon, Faceless, Cobwebs, Stray Heart, Between Two Worlds and The Housemaid.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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