Poets and writers
Ladan Osman (Ladan Cismaan)
Ladan Osman is a Somali-American poet, filmmaker and photographer. Born in Mogadishu and raised in Columbus, Ohio, she won the 2014 Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets for The Kitchen-Dweller's Testimony, the 2020 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Exiles of Eden, and a Whiting Award in 2021.
Ladan OsmanLadan Cismaan
- Known as one of
- Poets and writers
- Places
- Muqdisho and Banaadir
- Era
- Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 2 sources
Who is she?
Ladan Osman is a Somali-American poet, director and photographer born in Mogadishu and raised in Columbus, Ohio (Wikipedia, Ladan Osman). She earned an MFA at the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin (same source). See Somalis in Columbus.
Poetry
Her poems deal with dislocation and migration and have appeared through the Academy of American Poets, Literary Hub and Prairie Schooner, among others (Wikipedia; Poetry Foundation). Her books are (same source):
- Ordinary Heaven, chapbook, 2014
- The Kitchen-Dweller's Testimony, 2015, winner of the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets
- Exiles of Eden, winner of the 2020 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award
She received a Whiting Award in April 2021 (same source).
Film and photography
Her photographs, performances and experimental media have been shown at the Bienal de São Paulo, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt and the New York African Film Festival, among others (Wikipedia). Her documentary work has won an ECU award and a Dikalo award (same source).
In short
A Mogadishu-born poet and artist whose books on migration have won major American poetry prizes.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Ladan Osman · en.wikipedia.org
- Poetry Foundation · poetryfoundation.org
Ladan OsmanLadan Cismaan
- Known as one of
- Poets and writers
- Places
- Muqdisho and Banaadir
- Era
- Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 2 sources
Toosoo!
Calankii is made by Toosoo, which works for one united, prosperous Somalia.
Can you help with Ladan Osman (Ladan Cismaan)? Tell us what you can give.
I want to help with this
Where this matters
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- Hadraawi (Maxamed Ibraahin Warsame), 1943 to 2022: the master of Somali speechHadraawi, Somali poet (1943 to 2022): his songs and poems, five years in prison from 1973, exile, the 2004 peace march, the Prince Claus Award and his legacy.
- Nuruddin Farah: the Somali novelist who won the Neustadt PrizeNuruddin Farah, Somali novelist born in Baidoa in 1945: his novels and three trilogies, his years of exile, and his 1998 Neustadt Prize.
- Timacadde (Cabdillaahi Suldaan Maxamed)Timacadde (about 1920–1973), poet of Somali independence: his life, the flag poem of 1960 and his message of unity over clan.
- Gaarriye (Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac)Gaarriye (1949–2012): Hargeisa poet, starter of the Deelley poem chain, first to explain Somali metre, and voice of reconciliation.
- Nadifa Mohamed (Nadiifa Maxamed)Nadifa Mohamed, born 1981 in Hargeisa: author of Black Mamba Boy, The Orchard of Lost Souls and the Booker-shortlisted The Fortune Men.
- Warsan Shire (Warsan Shire)Warsan Shire, born 1988: British Somali poet, London's first Young Poet Laureate, Brunel Prize winner, and voice in Beyoncé's Lemonade.