Asha Lul Mohamud Yusuf is quickly emerging as one of the most exciting young poets living in the Somali diaspora. Like all Somalis, Asha grew up in a culture steeped in poetry and while she was young she started to compose her own poems. Her work began getting published on Somali websites in 2008 and, since then, she’s rapidly garnered a great deal of praise for her ability to infuse her poetry with fresh imagery enlivened by telling details.
Her collection The Sea-Migrations was named the Poetry Book of the Year 2018 by The Sunday
Times. Asha came to the UK in 1990 having fled the Somali Civil War. She now has three children and
a steady job and a growing career as a poet.
This is part of our new rebranded weekly release: the Dual Poetry Podcast, one poem in two languages from the Poetry Translation Centre. As ever we will be releasing a translated poem each week.