W.N. Herbert, co-editor of ‘So At One With You’, an anthology of the last fifty year of Somali poetry, reflects on editing the book and his own relationship with the Somali poets he has translated.
To naanays or not to naanays? Within the Somali community it is common for people to be referred to, almost exclusively, by a nickname or a naanays. So why do many poets, such as Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac (Gaarriye) and Maxamed Ibraahin Warsame (Hadraawi), have nicknames but Caasha Lul Mohamud Yusuf doesn’t?