Abdourahman A. Waberi () is a novelist, essayist, poet, academic, and short-story writer from

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

Early life

Abdourahman Waberi was born in

Djibouti City Djibouti (also called Djibouti City and Jibuti in early Western texts) is the capital city of the Djibouti, Republic of Djibouti. It is located in the coastal Djibouti Region on the Gulf of Tadjoura. Djibouti has a population of around 780,000 ...

in the French Somali Coast, the current

Republic of Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

. He went to France in 1985 to study English literature. Waberi worked as a literary consultant for Editions Le Serpent à plumes, Paris, and as a literary critic for Le Monde Diplomatique. He has been a member of the International Jury for the

Lettre Ulysses Award The Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage has been given annually since 2003 for the best texts in the genre of literary reportage, which must have been first published during the previous two years. The award was initiated by Lettre Intern ...

for the Art of Reportage (Berlin, Germany), 2003 & 2004.

Career

Waberi worked as an English teacher at Caen, France, where he has lived for most of his time since 1985. He was awarded with several honours including the Stefan-George-Preis 2006, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, the

Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire The Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire (one of the major literary prizes of Black Africa for Francophone Literature) is a literary prize presented every year by the ADELF, the Association of French Language Writers for a French original text ...

in 1996 and the Prix biennal " Mandat pour la liberté " – offered by

PEN PEN may refer to: * (National Ecological Party), former name of the Brazilian political party Patriota (PATRI) * PEN International, a worldwide association of writers ** English PEN, the founding centre of PEN International ** PEN America, located ...

France, 1998. In 2005, he was chosen amongst the "50 Writers of Future" by the French literary magazine '' Lire''. From 2006 to 2007, Waberi lived in Berlin as a guest of the DAAD. In 2007, he was a Donald and Susan Newhouse Center Humanities Fellow at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

, USA. His work has been translated into more than ten languages. In 2007, Waberi participated in the international

Stock Exchange of Visions The Stock Exchange of Visions is a project initiated in 2006 by Fabrica, Benetton's research center. It gathers visionaries from diverse nationalities and cultures, who hail from a wide range of specialties, to provide insight into their vision fo ...

project. In 2010, he was a William F. Podlich Distinguished Fellow and a visiting professor at

Claremont McKenna College Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It has a curricular emphasis on government, economics, public affairs, finance, and internat ...

, California, a jury member of the

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...

and an Academie de France

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a sixteenth-century Italian Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with 7-hectare Italian garden, contiguous with the more extensive Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in the historic ...

fellow in Roma, Italy. In May and June 2012, he was a visiting professor at the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...

, Austria. His novel ''Transit'' was a finalist for the

Best Translated Book Award The Best Translated Book Award was an American literary award that recognized the previous year's best original translation into English, one book of poetry and one of fiction. It was inaugurated in 2008 and was conferred by Three Percent, the onl ...

(2013). Nancy Naomi Carlson is a 2013 recipient of an NEA Literature Translation Fellowship for translating his book of poetry. He teaches now French and Francophone Studies and Creative Writing at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

, Washington DC. During the fall semester of 2023, he held the visiting professor chair of "World Literature" at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...

in Switzerland. The subject of his weekly seminar was "

Afrofuturism Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, philosophy of science, and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technoculture ...

" – the artistic movement that explores identities, forms of expression, and future visions within the African diaspora.

Translated works

*''The Land Without Shadows'' (short-story collection), translated by Jeanne Garane, prefaced by

Nuruddin Farah Nuruddin Farah (, ) (born 24 November 1945) is a Somali novelist. His first novel, '' From a Crooked Rib'', was published in 1970 and has been described as "one of the cornerstones of modern East African literature today". Farah has also written ...

, University of Virginia Press, 2005 *''In The United States of Africa'' (novel), translation by David and Nicole Ball, prefaced by

Percival Everett Percival Leonard Everett II (born December 22, 1956) is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and Distinguished professor, Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California. He has described himself as "pathologicall ...

, University of Nebraska Press, March 2009. *''Passage of Tears'' (novel), translation by David and Nicole Ball, Seagull Books, 2011. *''Transit'' (novel), translation by David and Nicole Ball, Indiana University Press, 2012. *''The Nomads, My Brothers, Go Out to Drink from the Big Dipper'' (poems), translated by Nancy Naomi Carlson, Seagull Books, 2015. *''Naming the Dawn'' (poems), translated by Nancy Naomi Carlson, Seagull Books, 2018.

Bibliography

* ''Le Pays Sans Ombre'' ("The Land Without Shadow"),

Serpent à plumes Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent symbolism, the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serpen ...

, Paris, 1994, * ''Balbala'', Serpent à plumes, Paris 1998, * ''Cahier nomade'' ("Nomad's Book"), Serpent à plumes, Paris, 1999 * ''L'oeil nomade'' ("Nomad's Eye"), CCFAR, Djibouti, 1997, * ''Les Nomades, mes frères vont boire à, la Grande Ourse'' ("The Nomads: My brothers go drinking in the Big Dipper") Pierron, Sarreguemines 2000 et

Mémoire d'encrier In French culture, the word ''mémoire'', as in une mémoire ("a memory" – indefinite article), reflects the writer's own experiences and memories. The word has no direct English translation. Up to the 18th century The word appeared in the cours ...

, Montréal, 2013. * ''Rift, routes, rails'' ("Rifts, Roads and Rails"), Gallimard, Paris 2001, * ''Transit'', Gallimard, Paris 2003, * ''Moisson de crânes'' ("Harvest of Skulls"), Serpent à plumes, Paris 2004 * ''Aux Etats Unis d'Afrique'' ("In the United States of Africa"), Lattès, Paris 2006 * ''Passage des larmes'' ("Trail of Tears"), Lattès, Paris, 2009. * ''Dis-moi pour qui j’existe ?'' (roman), Paris, Jean-Claude Lattès, 2022.

References

External links

Official site (mostly in French)

Stock Exchange Of Visions: Visions of Waberi Abdourahman (Video Interviews)
*
Webcast at the Library of Congress, 14 November 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waberi, Abdourahman Somalian writers 1965 births Living people Djiboutian writers People from Djibouti City Djiboutian writers in French Academic staff of the University of Innsbruck Claremont McKenna College faculty George Washington University faculty Academic staff of the University of Bern Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire winners