# Abdourahman Waberi (Cabdiraxmaan Waabberi)

> Abdourahman Waberi: Djiboutian novelist and poet writing in French, author of In the United States of Africa and Passage of Tears.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/people/abdourahman-waberi/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who is he?

Abdourahman A. Waberi is a novelist, essayist, poet, academic and short-story writer from Djibouti ([Wikipedia, Abdourahman Waberi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdourahman_Waberi)). He writes in French, and his work has been translated into more than ten languages (same source). See [Somalis in Djibouti](/en/diaspora/djibouti/).

## Early life

He was born in Djibouti City, then the French Somali Coast ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdourahman_Waberi)). In 1985 he went to France to study English literature (same source). He taught English in Caen, where he lived for most of the time after 1985 (same source). See [Somalis in France](/en/diaspora/france/).

## His books

Wikipedia lists these among his works, with their English translations ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdourahman_Waberi)):

- *Le Pays sans ombre* (1994), stories, published in English as *[The Land Without Shadows](/en/books/le-pays-sans-ombre-waberi/)* with a preface by [Nuruddin Farah](/en/people/nuruddin-farah/).
- *Cahier nomade* (1996), stories.
- *Balbala* (1998), a novel.
- *Moisson de crânes* (2000), published as *Harvest of Skulls*.
- *Transit* (2003), a finalist for the Best Translated Book Award in 2013.
- *Aux États-Unis d'Afrique* (2006), published as *In the United States of Africa*.
- *Passage des larmes* (2009), published as *Passage of Tears*.
- *La Divine Chanson* (2015), published as *The Divine Song*.
- *Pourquoi tu danses quand tu marches ?* (2019) and *Dis-moi pour qui j'existe ?* (2022).

His poetry includes *Les nomades, mes frères vont boire à la Grande Ourse* (2000) and *Mon nom est aube* (2016) (same source).

## Prizes and teaching

He won the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire in 1996 and the Stefan-George-Preis in 2006 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdourahman_Waberi)). He was a Caine Prize finalist in 2000 (same source). In 2005 the magazine *Lire* named him among 50 writers of the future (same source).

He has held fellowships in Berlin, at Wellesley College and at the Villa Medici in Rome (same source). He teaches French and Francophone studies and creative writing at George Washington University (same source). In autumn 2023 he was visiting professor of world literature at the University of Bern (same source).

## In short

A Djiboutian writer in French whose novels and poems have been translated into more than ten languages.

---
I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.