Cali Maxamed Cabdiraxman (Ali Mohamed Abdirahman), known as “Cali Ileeye,” is a Somali poet, writer, and translator based in Mogadishu. He was born in Balligubadle, a town on the border of Somaliland and Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State (DDS), at the height of Somalia’s civil war. Balligubadle served as the headquarters of the Somali National Movement (SNM).
Ali hails from a diverse background that includes farming, pastoralism, urban life, and diaspora ties. This blend of influences shaped his early worldview, making him open to the varying cultures within Somali society.
He completed his primary, middle, and high school education in Hargeisa before traveling to Sudan for university in 2009. As the top student in his class, which followed the Sudanese curriculum, Ali earned a scholarship to the University of Khartoum, where he pursued a bachelor’s degree in general administration and business management.
Although Ali’s passion for Somali literature began in his youth where he avidly read poems by figures like Cabdi Iidaan, Hadraawi, and other great poets it wasn’t until 2010 that he officially started composing poetry. His first complete work was a poem reflecting on Somaliland’s presidential elections.
Following this, Ali gained significant recognition on Facebook, where he regularly shared poetry, literary essays, think pieces on Somali poetic metrics, translated articles, and social and political critiques.
In 2015, Ali and his colleagues launched a literary movement called Hirka Cusub (New Horizon), aiming to reinvigorate Somali poetry, which they believed had been constrained by traditional constraints. Hirka Cusub, a neoclassical initiative, sought to transition Somali literature from its pastoral roots to a more urban-centric perspective.
Cali has published extensively. His works include two poetry collections, Halhaysreeb and Cawaysyada Saamalaylka, as well as a book on Somali poetic metrics, Xabag Barsheed: Miisaanka Maansada Soomaaliyeed, which unifies two schools of thought on the metre of Somali poetry. Additionally, Ali has written some of the most impactful contemporary Somali songs, such as Soomaalinimo, Waraaq ku Qor Oohintaada, and Qalbigu Saaxiib Ma Yeesho.
Despite being one of the most influential poets and writers of Somalia’s younger generation (his songs and poems amassing millions of views), Ali rarely appears in mainstream media or public events. This has led his close friends to nickname him “A King in the Shadows.”
