On discovering Somali novelist, Nuruddin Farah, at the Dhaka Lit Fest

On each edition of the Dhaka Lit Fest, you leave having discovered a brilliant author. Last time, it was the humorous and adorable Jan Blake whose performance storytelling left me captivated.

Among the luminaries on the DLF panel this year, it was Somali novelist Nuruddin Farah's candour and humour that left an impression on me. For those unfamiliar with his work, Farah's debut novel, From a Crooked Rib (1970), is considered "one of the cornerstones of modern East African literature". In his panel on 'Lost Country, Last Words', Farah discussed the trajectory of his life and literary journey with writer, publisher and DLF Director K Anis Ahmed.

Nuruddin Farah was born to a merchant father and poet mother in Somalia. Three years after Somalia's independence, he had to flee. He went to university in India and the UK and has lived in different parts of the world. This has made him a citizen of the world, but he continues to write about Somalia.

As a young man, Nuruddin Farah studied English, Arabic and Amharic. Asked by K Anis Ahmed as to why he writes in English, Farah shared  that it was also possible for him to write in Italian and Arabic.

"I found that I was very very lucky in discovering a typewriter that was strong enough to withstand the weight of my fingers. Whenever I tried the Italian typewriter, it broke under the weight of my fingers", he recalled with a touch of wit. "The other thing that was very important was that my intellectual makeup, in terms of reading and understanding literature, were either in Arabic or English."

His first book was revolutionary for multiple reasons. Being a man, he was writing in a woman's voice. His book is about a young orphan, Ebla, who flees her home in rural Somalia after discovering that her grandfather has arranged for her to marry an older man. It is the story of Ebla's struggle to maintain her identity and autonomy in a patriarchal society where women are treated as commodities. For a book like that to come out in 1970 was revolutionary.

With over 13 novels written, Farah has also authored essays and plays since then. "When I count my children, I have more than 13", he said jokingly.

Throughout the session, I noticed the 77-year-old take several pauses before answering in a thoughtful manner while the crowd listened intently. He has a vigour to the way he speaks that, as a young listener, I could not help but admire.

How did he end up studying in India? The author shared that he came looking for spirituality and inner peace—an illusion which quickly broke as soon as he reached the country. So, he made the best use of the bad hand he was dealt with and completed his education there.

Farah describes his younger self as a "rebellious" spirit.

"Writing the first book is easy", he said. "Writing the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh becomes more and more difficult. Because you move away from your own life and into the lives of others and to a world created through one's imagination and so on", he shared.

"One way to keep my sanity is to keep busy writing", he added.

Usraat Fahmidah is a freelance journalist and writer. You can reach her on twitter @usraatfahmidah.