Farah Hussein Sharmarke (; ) was a Somali

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

who composed poems during the 1940s and early 1950s whilst living in

Isiolo Isiolo is a town in Isiolo County, of which it is the capital. It is located in the upper eastern region of Kenya and is geographically considered the center of the country Kenya. It lies 285 kilometers north of the capital Nairobi. The town gr ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Biography

Farah was born in 1926 in the city of

Bardera Bardere (, , ) also known as Bardera, is a city in Jubaland State of Somalia. It is the second most populous city in Jubaland with Kismayo being the largest and most densely populated city in the region. Bardere sits on the Jubba River around 250& ...

in Gedo region in southwestern Somalia. He studied poetry from other famous Gedo region poets and playwrights including Guled Jufe and Mohamed Nur Shareco. Farah Hussein became an established poet in the early 1940s. He composed most of his poems in either Bardera,

Garbahare Garbahare (also: Garbaharey) (, , ) is the capital of Gedo, an administrative region in southern Somalia. It is the third most populous city in the Gedo region after Bardera and Luuq. History During the Middle Ages, Garbahare and its surroundi ...

, or

in the NFD region.

Quitting Poetry

Farah stopped composing poems at the height of his poetic outburst. He composed an often-quoted poem wherein he indicated why he quit, explaining the reason in 16 lines, all starting in the letter D. Farah Hussein Sharmarke composed some of the best Somali poems in its classic wisdom form. He is in this category with great poets such as Haji Aden Ahmed Af-Qalooc and

Osman Yusuf Kenadid Osman Yusuf Kenadid (; ; 1889 – 14 August 1972) was a Somalis, Somali poet, writer, teacher and ruler. Born in Ceel Huur in 1889, he went on to create the Osmanya alphabet for writing Somali language, Somali. He died on 31 August 1972 in Mogad ...

, Farah Hussein achieved greatness in poetry at such an early age and the type of work he has left with us is currently classified under philosophic and wisdom by writer Mohamed Sheikh Hassan.

Works

Farah Hussein Sharmarke composed his last poems in 1952 while in Kenya. Voice recorded poems are available for his last half dozen poems just before his death in the early 1950s. First numbered lines from 1-3 are in Af Somali while lines underneath from 1 to 3 are their

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

translations. 1- Shimbir duulis badanoow haddaad, degi aqoon weydo *The bird which is always flying around, not knowing where to land. 2- Mar unbaad libaax labadii daan, dalaq tidhaahdaaye *Once will land in the mouth of the lion 3- Iney edebtu shay doora tahay, yaan isaga daayey *For that good behaviour is something important, I have stopped to compose * ''Lix iyo Toban Haloo Deela'', better known as "Shimbir Duulis badanoow", most referenced line from Farah Hussein Sharmarke's poems. * ''Alif-ka-ya'' * ''Nin la Dilay'' * ''Bahalaley'' * ''Atoor Guunyo''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharmarke, Farah Hussein 1926 births Ethnic Somali people Somalian poets Gedo Possibly living people