# Mohamud Siad Togane (Maxamuud Siyaad Togane)

> Mohamud Siad Togane (born 1947): Somali-Canadian poet of The Bottle and the Bushman, co-founder of Montreal Somali House.

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

## Who is he?

Mohamud Siad Togane is a Somali-Canadian poet and peace activist born on 1 July 1947 ([Wikipedia, Mohamud Siad Togane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamud_Siad_Togane)). He went to Mennonite schools in Mahaddei and Jowhar, then studied in the United States, graduating in English literature from Eastern Mennonite College in 1969 (same source). See [Middle Shabelle](/en/regions/middle-shabelle/).

He taught at the [Lafoole College](/en/institutions/lafoole-university/) of Education from 1970 to 1973, then left Somalia under the military government and settled in Canada in 1973 (same source). He became a Canadian citizen in 1978 and earned an MA in creative writing from Concordia University in Montreal in 1982 (same source).

## Poetry

His first collection, *The Bottle and the Bushman: Poems of the Prodigal Son* (1986), deals with racism and alcoholism ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamud_Siad_Togane)). His poems criticise Somali clan thinking, life under dictatorship and female genital mutilation, often with satire and blunt language (same source). Some critics say his confrontational style adds to the conflict he opposes, while others see it as honest about clan influence on himself and others (same source). His poems have appeared on Montreal buses through the Poetry in Motion programme (same source).

## Peace work

He co-founded Montreal Somali House and the Somali Peace Coalition, and visited Somalia in 1991 to 1992 as part of reconciliation efforts ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamud_Siad_Togane)).

## In short

A Montreal-based poet whose satirical verse takes on clan politics, and a co-founder of Somali peace groups.

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