# Somali authors and their books: poetry, novels, memoirs and history

> Books by Somali authors in Somali, Arabic, English, Italian and French: Hadraawi, Farah, Faarax Cawl, Nadifa Mohamed, Warsan Shire, Scego and more.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/society/somali-authors-and-their-books/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## How Somali writing in books began

For centuries Somali poetry was composed and passed on by memory, not on paper ([Somali poetry](/en/society/somali-poetry/)). Somali scholars wrote in **Arabic**, for example [Abd al-Rahman al-Zayla'i](/en/people/abd-al-rahman-al-zaylai/) and the historian [Sharif](/en/society/asharaaf/) Aydarus, whose Bughyat al-amal fi tarikh al-Sumal (1950s) is an Arabic history of Somalia.

The first books in Somali written in Latin letters appeared in the 1950s and 1960s, by writers such as [Musa Galaal](/en/people/musa-galaal/) and [Shire Jaamac Axmed](/en/people/shire-jama-ahmed/). After the government made the Latin script official in October 1972 ([Somali written, 1972](/en/history/somali-language-written-1972/)), publishing in Somali grew quickly. Faarax M. J. Cawl's Aqoondarro waa u nacab jacayl (1974) was one of the first novels in the new script and was translated into English in 1982 as Ignorance is the Enemy of Love ([Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/ignoranceisenemy0000faar)).

## Writing in other languages

[Nuruddin Farah](/en/people/nuruddin-farah/) has written his novels in English since From a Crooked Rib (1970). In the diaspora, Somali writers publish in English ([Nadifa Mohamed](/en/people/nadifa-mohamed/), [Warsan Shire](/en/people/warsan-shire/)), Italian (Igiaba Scego, [Ubah Cristina Ali Farah](/en/people/cristina-ali-farah/), Shirin Ramzanali Fazel), French ([Abdourahman Waberi](/en/people/abdourahman-waberi/) of Djibouti) and Dutch ([Ayaan Hirsi Ali](/en/people/ayaan-hirsi-ali/)). Memoirs by public figures, such as the former prime minister [Abdirizak Haji Hussein](/en/people/abdirizak-haji-hussein/), record political history from the inside.

Poets' work also reaches print. [Hadraawi](/en/people/hadraawi/)'s poems were collected in Hal-karaan (1993), and a bilingual English-Somali edition of his long poem Daalacan appeared as The Poet's Pilgrimage. The play Shabeelnaagood (1968) by [Hassan Sheikh Mumin](/en/people/hassan-sheikh-mumin/) was published in English as Leopard Among the Women in 1974 ([Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/leopardamongwome00hass)).

## The books, oldest first

### Bughyat al-amal fi tarikh al-Sumal (1955)

**Sharif Aydarus al-Nadiri** · Arabic

History of Somalia in Arabic from early Islam to the 20th century, published in Mogadishu.

Where to read: [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Bughyat+al-amal+fi+tarikh+al-Sumal+Sharif+Aydarus+al-Nadiri)

### Hikmad Soomaali (1956)

**Bernhard W. Andrzejewski & Musa H. I. Galaal** · Somali / English

Somali prose stories and wisdom tales, transcribed in Latin letters.

Where to read: [Read free on Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/somalibookshikmadsoomaali) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Hikmad+Soomaali+Bernhard+W.+Andrzejewski)

### Gabayo, maahmaah iyo sheekooyin yaryar (1965)

**Shire Jaamac Axmed** · Somali

Poems, proverbs and short stories, one of the first Somali-language books in Latin letters.

Where to read: [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Gabayo%2C+maahmaah+iyo+sheekooyin+yaryar+Shire+Jaamac+Axmed)

### Shabeelnaagood (Leopard Among the Women) (1968 (English 1974))

**Hassan Sheikh Mumin** · Somali / English

Play about a man who exploits women in Mogadishu; translated by B. W. Andrzejewski.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/shabeelnaagood-mumin/) · [Read free on Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/leopardamongwome00hass) · [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL7052659W) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Shabeelnaagood+Hassan+Sheikh+Mumin)

### From a Crooked Rib (1970)

**Nuruddin Farah** · English

Novel: a young nomad woman, Ebla, escapes a forced marriage.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/from-a-crooked-rib-farah/) · [Read free on Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/fromcrookedrib0000fara) · [HathiTrust](https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005213827) · [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL18692W) · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_a_Crooked_Rib) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=From+a+Crooked+Rib+Nuruddin+Farah)

### Aqoondarro Waa U Nacab Jacayl (Ignorance is the Enemy of Love) (1974 (English 1982))

**Faarax M. J. Cawl** · Somali / English

Early novel in the new Somali script; a love story set during the Dervish era.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/ignorance-is-the-enemy-of-love-cawl/) · [Read free on Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/ignoranceisenemy0000faar) · [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL12996668W) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Aqoondarro+Waa+U+Nacab+Jacayl+Faarax+M.+J.+Cawl)

### Diiwaanka Gabayadii Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan (ed. Jaamac Cumar Ciise) (1974)

**Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan (Sayyid)** · Somali

Collected poems of the Sayyid, gathered by [Jaamac Cumar Ciise](/en/people/jama-omar-issa/).

Where to read: [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Diiwaanka+Gabayadii+Sayid+Maxamed+Cabdulle+Xasan+Mohamed+Abdullahi+Hassan)

### Taariikhdii Daraawiishta iyo Sayid Maxamad Cabdulle Xasan (1976)

**Jaamac Cumar Ciise** · Somali

History of the [Dervishes](/en/history/dervish-movement-1899-1920/) and the Sayyid, written in Somali from oral sources.

Where to read: [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Taariikhdii+Daraawiishta+iyo+Sayid+Maxamad+Cabdulle+Xasan+Jaamac+Cumar+Ciise)

### A Naked Needle (1976)

**Nuruddin Farah** · English

Second novel, set in Mogadishu after 1969.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/a-naked-needle-farah/) · [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL12163504W) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=A+Naked+Needle+Nuruddin+Farah)

### Sweet and Sour Milk (1979)

**Nuruddin Farah** · English

First novel of the 'Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship' trilogy.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/sweet-and-sour-milk-farah/) · [HathiTrust](https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/002622032) · [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL18697W) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Sweet+and+Sour+Milk+Nuruddin+Farah)

### Maana-faay (1981)

**[Maxamed Daahir Afrax](/en/people/maxamed-daahir-afrax/)** · Somali

Novel in Somali on a woman in Mogadishu.

Where to read: [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Maana-faay+Maxamed+Daahir+Afrax)

### Maps (1986)

**Nuruddin Farah** · English

Novel of a boy, Askar, raised in the Ogaden around the 1977 war.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/maps-farah/) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Maps+Nuruddin+Farah)

### The Road to Zero: Somalia's Self-destruction (1992)

**Mohamed Osman Omar** · English

Former diplomat's account of the fall of the state.

Where to read: [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=The+Road+to+Zero%3A+Somalia%27s+Self-destruction+Mohamed+Osman+Omar)

### Gifts (1992)

**Nuruddin Farah** · English

Novel set in Mogadishu; second of the 'Blood in the Sun' trilogy.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/gifts-farah/) · [Read free on Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/giftsnovel0000fara) · [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL18698W) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Gifts+Nuruddin+Farah)

### Hal-karaan (collected poems) (1993)

**Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame 'Hadraawi'** · Somali

Collected poems of Hadraawi.

Where to read: [Read free on Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/hal-karaan) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Hal-karaan+Mohamed+Ibrahim+Warsame+%27Hadraawi%27)

### Lontano da Mogadiscio (1994)

**Shirin Ramzanali Fazel** · Italian

Memoir of growing up in Mogadishu and moving to Italy.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/lontano-da-mogadiscio-fazel/) · [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL2372298W) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Lontano+da+Mogadiscio+Shirin+Ramzanali+Fazel)

### Le pays sans ombre (1994)

**Abdourahman A. Waberi** · French

Stories of Djibouti and the Somali world.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/le-pays-sans-ombre-waberi/) · [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL2901192W) · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdourahman_Waberi) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Le+pays+sans+ombre+Abdourahman+A.+Waberi)

### The Cost of Dictatorship: The Somali Experience (1995)

**Jama Mohamed Ghalib** · English

Memoir and analysis by a former minister of the Barre years.

Where to read: [Read free on Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/costofdictatorsh0000ghal) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=The+Cost+of+Dictatorship%3A+The+Somali+Experience+Jama+Mohamed+Ghalib)

### Desert Flower (1998)

**[Waris Dirie](/en/people/waris-dirie/) & Cathleen Miller** · English

Memoir of a nomad girl who became a model and campaigner against FGM.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/desert-flower-dirie/) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Desert+Flower+Waris+Dirie)

### Secrets (1998)

**Nuruddin Farah** · English

Novel set in Mogadishu on the eve of the civil war.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/secrets-farah/) · [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL8858192W) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Secrets+Nuruddin+Farah)

### Yesterday, Tomorrow: Voices from the Somali Diaspora (2000)

**Nuruddin Farah** · English

Interviews with Somali refugees and migrants.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/yesterday-tomorrow-farah/) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Yesterday%2C+Tomorrow%3A+Voices+from+the+Somali+Diaspora+Nuruddin+Farah)

### Links (2003)

**Nuruddin Farah** · English

Novel of a diaspora Somali returning to Mogadishu.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/links-farah/) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Links+Nuruddin+Farah)

### Infidel (2006 (English 2007))

**Ayaan Hirsi Ali** · Dutch / English

Memoir of childhood in Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Kenya and life in the Netherlands.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/infidel-hirsi-ali/) · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidel_(book)) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Infidel+Ayaan+Hirsi+Ali)

### Madre piccola (2007)

**Ubah Cristina Ali Farah** · Italian

Novel of Somali women in Rome and the diaspora.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/madre-piccola-ali-farah/) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Madre+piccola+Ubah+Cristina+Ali+Farah)

### Black Mamba Boy (2010)

**Nadifa Mohamed** · English

Novel based on her father's journey from Yemen and [Somaliland](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/) to Britain in the 1930s-40s.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/black-mamba-boy-mohamed/) · [Read free on Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/blackmambaboy00moha) · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mamba_Boy) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Black+Mamba+Boy+Nadifa+Mohamed)

### The Girl with Three Legs (2011)

**[Soraya Mire](/en/people/soraya-mire/)** · English

Memoir of the Somali filmmaker and campaigner against FGM.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/the-girl-with-three-legs-mire/) · [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15951667W) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=The+Girl+with+Three+Legs+Soraya+Mire)

### The Orchard of Lost Souls (2013)

**Nadifa Mohamed** · English

Novel of three women in Hargeisa in 1987-1988.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/the-orchard-of-lost-souls-mohamed/) · [Read free on Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/orchardoflostsou0000moha_y1z0) · [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL17427801W) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=The+Orchard+of+Lost+Souls+Nadifa+Mohamed)

### The Poet's Pilgrimage (Hadraawi: The Poet and the Man) (2013)

**Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame 'Hadraawi' (trans. W. N. Herbert, Said Jama Hussein, Martin Orwin)** · Somali / English

Bilingual edition of Hadraawi's long poem Daalacan.

Where to read: [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=The+Poet%27s+Pilgrimage+Mohamed+Ibrahim+Warsame+%27Hadraawi%27)

### Keeping Hope Alive: One Woman, 90,000 Lives Changed (2013)

**[Hawa Abdi](/en/people/hawa-abdi/) with Sarah J. Robbins** · English

Memoir of the doctor who ran a hospital and camp outside Mogadishu.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/keeping-hope-alive-abdi/) · [Read free on Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/keepinghopealive0000hawa) · [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL17927431W) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Keeping+Hope+Alive+Hawa+Abdi+with+Sarah+J.+Robbins)

### Adua (2015)

**Igiaba Scego** · Italian

Novel linking Italian colonial Somalia and today's Rome.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/adua-scego/) · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igiaba_Scego) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Adua+Igiaba+Scego)

### My Role in the Foundation of the Somali Nation-State: A Political Memoir (2017)

**Abdirazak Haji Hussein** · English

Memoir of the prime minister of 1964-1967.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/my-role-in-the-foundation-of-the-somali-nation-state-hussein/) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=My+Role+in+the+Foundation+of+the+Somali+Nation-State%3A+A+Political+Memoir+Abdirazak+Haji+Hussein)

### This Is What America Looks Like: My Journey from Refugee to Congresswoman (2020)

**[Ilhan Omar](/en/people/ilhan-omar/)** · English

Memoir of the US congresswoman, from Mogadishu and Dadaab to Minneapolis.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/this-is-what-america-looks-like-omar/) · [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20785102W) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=This+Is+What+America+Looks+Like+Ilhan+Omar)

### The Fortune Men (2021)

**Nadifa Mohamed** · English

Novel about Mahmood Mattan, a Somali seaman wrongly hanged in [Cardiff](/en/diaspora/cardiff/) in 1952; Booker Prize shortlist.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/the-fortune-men-mohamed/) · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fortune_Men) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=The+Fortune+Men+Nadifa+Mohamed)

### Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head (2022)

**Warsan Shire** · English

First full poetry collection by the British-Somali poet.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/bless-the-daughter-shire/) · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsan_Shire) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Bless+the+Daughter+Raised+by+a+Voice+in+Her+Head+Warsan+Shire)

### America Made Me a Black Man (2022)

**Boyah J. Farah** · English

Memoir of a Somali refugee in the United States.

Where to read: [Full page on this book](/en/books/america-made-me-a-black-man-farah/) · [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24361628W) · [Find in a library (WorldCat)](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=America+Made+Me+a+Black+Man+Boyah+J.+Farah)

## Related pages

- [Somali poetry](/en/society/somali-poetry/)
- [The Somali language](/en/society/the-somali-language/)
- [Books about Somalis: every era](/en/history/books-about-somalis/)

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