On Cultural Creativity in the Ethiopian Diaspora

This brief introduction to the essays in this volume offers commentary on the conference that generated them while expanding on its central theme, "creative incorporation," drawn from the author's 1974 book, Greater Ethiopia. The essay provides a provisional semantic matrix that defines four types of creativity: in problem-solving; in finding new ways to combine existing elements; to provide for spontaneous expression of energies; and to invent novel forms. The conclusion suggests that all of these processes occur among Ethiopians in diaspora, where they are inflected by the intensity that Ethiopians manifest in their attitude toward their homeland. (14 January 2009)