Nuruddin Farah Biography

Nuruddin Farah is a leading Somali writer and professor, known for his feminist and nationalist literary works. Born in Somalia, he studied at the Koran school as well as at the British colonial school. Through his family’s escape to Ogaden, he grew up in a multi-lingual environment and learned to speak Somali, English, Italian as well as Arabic. While pursuing graduation from India, he decided to become a writer and subsequently, published his first novel. In mid 1970s, his writing career came to an abrupt halt when the candid portrayal of Somali society in his novels under the dictator Maxamed Siyaad Barre’s rule got him into trouble and he was forced into exile. During exile, he wandered around most of the time, and taught at Germany, Italy, India, and United States. He did not return to his home country for 22 years and during this time he published some of his most notable trilogies such as ‘Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship’ and ‘Blood in the Sun’. He used his works to discuss his opposition to Somali cultural norms and analyze the postcolonial dictatorship, war and the declining state of Africa. Most recurrent themes in his writing are women’s rights, the relationship between industrialized and developing countries, and the pre-Islamic understanding of religion in Somalia. With rich imagination and refreshing use of his adopted language, he became one of the most celebrated writers of Somalia