May Lenna Balisidya Matteru (May 10, 1947 – December 27, 1987) was a Tanzanian author writing in the Swahili language.
She was born in Dodoma and attended primary and secondary school there. Balisidya received a BA from the University of East Africa at Dar es Salaam in 1970 and a MA in oral literature from the University of Dar es Salaam in 1978. She obtained her PhD in African literature from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in November 1987.[1][2]
From 1977 to 1987, she was a lecturer in the Kiswahili department of the University of Dar es Salaam.[1]
In 1971, she was elected to the Swahili National Council of Tanzania;[2] she served two terms as vice-chairman of the council.[1]
Balisidya died at the age of 40 from cancer.[1]