In addition to becoming the Berlin LitFest’s first curator-in-residence, Helon Habila has also just received Kaduna Books and Art Festival’s KabaFest Lifetime Achievement Award, celebrating his "exceptional writing and significant contributions to the development of literature globally."
I wrote this unusual letter to the news of my devastating love that has saturated in Dagahaley Community. I cannot imagine how the news has been received but I can imagine how the people were hesitating to the preparation of my dead love. It was 2006 when I fell in love with a young Somali girl who was living in the IFO Camp. Really we were a bird and its feathers, but later on the girl committed suicide. And in fact I was not on the ground, but I have received her information after amount.
It was a Monday night at 10:30 pm. It was an unusual night. The earth was shaking, trees were whistling, rams were bleating, insects were out of their hole, winds were wailing like a mad man, ??? ???, donkeys were braying. I hardly know whether I slept or not after having all these nagging thoughts at night: I shouted and tiptoed to the door as if I heard her voice from the window. My father ran with his Somali ??? and asked me what has happened and really I didn’t answer his question. I was possibly unable to inhale and exhale and cried until his tears dropped to the ground.
Find Us Online