Who was Tsegaye Gebre-Medhin and what makes his poetry and literary style uniquely Ethiopian?

Tsegaye Gebre-Medhin is often called the Poet Laureate of Africa and is considered one of Ethiopia's greatest literary figures. I would like to understand who he was, what shaped his writing, and why his work is so significant. What were the major influences on his life and writing, from his upbringing in Ethiopia to his work at the National Theatre and his later years in exile? What are his most important plays and poems and what themes run through them? What is the distinctive literary style known as Tsegaye Bet, and what makes it unique in the tradition of Amharic poetry? How did he use language, Ge'ez vocabulary, layered meaning, and deliberate ambiguity as both an artistic choice and a form of political expression during a period when direct political speech was dangerous in Ethiopia? How does his work connect to the broader Pan-African movement and to Ethiopian identity and history? And what is his legacy today among Ethiopian writers, scholars, and the diaspora community, and is his work being translated and preserved for future generations?