Poets and writers
Abdourahman Waberi (Cabdiraxmaan Waabberi)
Abdourahman A. Waberi is a novelist, poet and essayist from Djibouti, born in Djibouti City when it was the French Somali Coast. He moved to France in 1985 and now teaches at George Washington University in Washington. His books include Harvest of Skulls, Transit and In the United States of Africa, translated into more than ten languages.
Abdourahman WaberiCabdiraxmaan Waabberi · Abdourahman A. Waberi
- Known as one of
- Poets and writers
- Era
- The Republic, 1960 to 1991; Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 1 sources
Who is he?
Abdourahman A. Waberi is a novelist, essayist, poet, academic and short-story writer from Djibouti (Wikipedia, Abdourahman Waberi). He writes in French, and his work has been translated into more than ten languages (same source). See Somalis in Djibouti.
Early life
He was born in Djibouti City, then the French Somali Coast (Wikipedia). 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.
His books
Wikipedia lists these among his works, with their English translations (Wikipedia):
- Le Pays sans ombre (1994), stories, published in English as The Land Without Shadows with a preface by 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). 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.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Abdourahman Waberi · en.wikipedia.org
Abdourahman WaberiCabdiraxmaan Waabberi · Abdourahman A. Waberi
- Known as one of
- Poets and writers
- Era
- The Republic, 1960 to 1991; Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 1 sources
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